The Torrid Affair of Amanda Marlin
by katladel
Summary: Amanda Marlin's life is heading for danger. She's racked by nightmares, her potion was sabotaged, she's been thrown down the stairs by a mysterious, invisible assailant, and then her broom had been hexed to explode! Can the Golden Trio and her best friend Candice help her overcome her trials? or is she on a fast track to the end of her life?
1. Chapter 1 - Awoken

First Story, hope you enjoy! Constructive Critique welcome!  
Thanks for the help with the spacing :)

I can't fit the pairings in to the summery so here are the current pairings, though they may evolve:  
HarryxOC Friendship  
DracoxOC Friendship  
SnapexOC Hateship  
HermionexOC Friendship/One sided infatuation/admiration

I hope that these pairings do not interfere with your enjoyment of the story if you are not fond of them.

* * *

I awoke with a gasp and my body heaved with sobs.  
Tears streamed down my face and though I wiped them away with my wrist, they kept coming.  
I hugged legs tightly and wept in the cold winter morning.  
I had just had one of the most terrifying nightmares I had ever experienced.  
Shadows, pale skin, and I was running for my life.  
I couldn't place what was happening, but it was terrifying.

I poked my wet face out of the curtains that were drawn around my four poster bed and saw that the dorm room was completely empty. Relief fluttered through my stomach briefly as I realised that no one would witness my dramatic start to the day. It comforted me slightly, knowing that I could get over this without people fussing about.

I took several deep breathes and stood shakily off my bed. I tried to remember what the nightmare was about, but could remember nothing but the dark, the shadows, the glow of pale skin. What in the world could have terrified me so?  
I was still shaking with fear, but decided that since it was just a dream I didn't need to be too worried about it.  
I forced myself to stop thinking about the nightmare and changed into my Hogwarts uniform.

I brushed my hair quickly, applied some make up to cover up my sleepless, bruised looking eyes, grabbed my already-packed tote bag and rushed out to the common room.

"Hello Amanda!" Ron greeted me enthusiastically. He and Harry were the only two in the area.

"Hello Ron." I replied, then turned to Harry who sat to Ron's right on the sofa in front of the fire, "Ready for breakfast?"

"Sure am," Harry replied and then indicated to the entrance of the common room with his head, "Hermione went on ahead with Candice, they're going over Candice's potions assignment."

"Candice sure does ask Hermione for help a lot," Ron started, a skeptical look crossing his face.  
"And we don't?" I reminded him, "just last night you had her read over _your_ potions assignment!"

Ron nodded and shrugged with a smile, "Probably just notice it more because it's not me asking."

Harry stood and grabbed his bag off the ground near his feet, and as Ron did the same he said;

"Let's go then!"

* * *

It took us the usual amount of time to arrive at the Great Hall but once we were there it was almost a nightmare to find a spot! The Hall was packed with students, but Candice managed to shoo away some younger Gryffindors so we were able to get seats next to her and Hermione.

"Hey Candi," I greeted Candice by her nickname. She gave me an angry look over her rectangular glasses before turning back to Hermione.  
I ignored it, as I knew it was just a reaction to the use of her childhood nickname, and turned back to Harry and Ron.

"So, Potions first, ay?" I said as I helped myself to bacon, eggs and toast.

"Ugh, I'll hate leaving the morning sun behind to go down to that dank place." Ron said, "we could be practising Quidditch right now."  
Harry and I nodded, our mouths full of food. Ron shovelled food into his too but kept talking.

"Since the Slytherins have potions with us, it'd be great if we just have this morning for practice because then Malfoy wouldn't be able to spy on us!"

I swallowed and said, "I don't usually see Malfoy on the grounds when we practice...but I wouldn't be surprised if they had some way of knowing how we went each time."

Ron and Harry agreed, and we ate in silence and listened to Hermione and Candice pore over her work.

* * *

We were almost late for potions and as a result, weren't able to find the best tables.

Hermione and Candice had a table together as did Ron and Harry, but they were dreadfully close to Slytherin side of the room. I had to take a table to myself as No one apart from my friends would sit with me in this class, or really any class. I was once told by Neville Longbottom that he found me an explosive distraction. He sat now 3 tables away with a Slytherin, no doubt finding him less scary.

Today, we were continuing our brewing of Trundlewar; A Potion that will cause the drinker to lose their eyesight for 24 hours; named after its creator Tusker Trundlewart, the notorious prankster. I sat slicing Cowbane when Snape slowly came up behind me to glower.

"Only up to Cowbane, Miss Marlin?" He sneered, "you should be adding Shrivelfig by now."

"I started my potion late last class, Professor Snape." I countered, feeling agitated at the intrusion, "I was too busy being enamoured by the declaration of your feelings towards Neville's failures."

Snape did not falter.

"If you were so enticed by me, Miss Marlin, You would have heard that I asked everyone to start _before _I began to converse with Mr Longbottom. 10 points from Gryffindor, and Detention."

I scoffed at his figure as he departed my table. I threw the sliced Cowbane in to my cauldron and looked over at Harry and Ron, who were chuckling quietly at my retort. I smiled at them briefly and looked over to Hermione and Candice, who were not so pleased. Hermione seemed impatient and Candice looked at me over her glasses, her brow furrowed with a worried expression. I gave a small, reassuring smile back.

* * *

At the end of the lesson, the class cleared up our tables and carried our cauldrons into a separate storeroom and set them up to continue to brew. After, I joined everyone outside the front of the dungeon classroom.

At the end of the lesson, I carefully placed everything back into my tote bag expect for my cauldron that along with the rest of the classes, was moved to a separate room to continue to brew, and joined the gang outside the front of the dungeon classroom.

"Ugh," I began as I locked eyes with Harry, "ugh ugh ugh."

"I couldn't have said it better," He chuckled.

"An astute observation." Ron replied with faux class and waved his hands dramatically in front of him.

Candice gripped her messenger bag closer to her body and shot me a worried look.

"Don't worry Candi," I whispered, "it'll just be scrubbing cauldrons. He's as imaginative as a string of fish crap." She gave me a wry smile.

We all headed towards the Great Hall, but at last minute Candice turned towards the stairs.

"where are you going?" I asked her in shock. Wasn't she going to hang out with us?

"To study," she replied, looking at the ground. She fidgeted with her messenger bag.

"But we've got study time after next period," I said, "just do it then!"

She began to turn red.

"She wants to study Arithmancy, Amanda." Hermione said suddenly and then walked off to join Candice and in a quieter tone said "come on I'll go over last lesson again with you."

"Thank you." Candice whispered in reply, not looking up from the ground.

"Ugh, studying between classes? This is why I chose Divination. TOTAL bulge period, aye?" I turned to Harry, who laughed and nodded.

We went into the Hall and sat down next to Neville, who was stressing over his copy of the Potions Manuel we used in class today.

"What's wrong, Neville?" Ron asked him as we sat down.

"My potion turned green!" Neville said, "GREEN!"

We looked at him with puzzled expressions.

"It's not even supposed to become a COLOUR!" He shouted nervously at us and then flipped back to the previous page in his book, going over the potion again.

I shrugged at Harry and Ron, and poured them both a cup of Pumpkin Juice.  
I lifted my cup in celebration.

"TO DETENTION!" I declared, and toasted with the others.

* * *

We lined up outside our Divination class early. Ron had already taken out his textbook and was pretending to read the fortunes of those behind us.

"You will meet a STUNNING YOUNG MAN with FLAMING RED HAIR whom you will SET YOUR ROMANTIC SIGHTS UPON WITH HASTE."

Harry and I were roaring with laughter, as was Neville, the current recipient of the reading. He had temporarily lost his nervous interest in his failed potion over Ron's dashing romantic spectacle. The roof hatch flung open, and Professor Trelawney's head poked out, hair cascading everywhere.

"Alright Class!" She said, "today we're reading Tea Leaves!"

She pulled herself back up and disappeared into the classroom, leaving us to enter at our leisure. As we did the scent of many different flavours of tea wafted through the air, thankfully overpowering the usual smell of perfume. Harry, Ron and I took to our usual seats near a window which we would crack open to relieve ourselves of the overwhelming nature of the room sometimes. I started to brew the hot water for the tea.

Professor Trelawney began her usual spiel on divination; a flowery and prosed speech about how all of us are gifted, how wonderful it an opportunity it was to predict the future and how we all can and will do so in her class today.

Barely listening, my thoughts roamed to the detention that was going to be inflicted upon me tonight. What boring thing will I have to do this time? Scrub cauldrons? Do lines? Disgust slowly filled my stomach as I thought of Snape but suddenly I was snapped out of it by Harry.

"Time to 'divine'," he said quietly as he nudged my arm. I glanced at him quickly before taking my tea off the table. It had just been poured by Ron who was now slowly sipping at his own.

"Breathe deeply, My Students, and clear your mind...for you cannot expect the future to unfold in front of you if you are unwilling to perceive it!"

I settled back into my chair and took a deep breath in, savouring the sharp scent of the mint tea.

I took a sip and relaxed, closing my eyes and listening to Harry and Ron talk about Quidditch. Eventually, I made it to the bottom of my cup and I huddled together with Harry and Ron as we tried to make out the symbols.

"Mine kind of looks like an egg…" Ron said quickly, and started flipping through pages in the our textbook _Unfogging the Future_.

"An Egg?" Harry repeated and took the cup out of Ron's hands to inspect it, "It looks rounder than an egg."  
He looked into his own cup; "mine looks like...a shovel?"

I gave him a funny look and peered down into my own cup. It looked just like-

"A Skull?" Harry spoke quietly, "That can't be good."

Ron began feverishly flipping pages and stopped at _S._

"Skulls." he began to read, " Skulls represent 'Danger that Lies Ahead.'" Ron looked at me in surprise, "Trelawney likes danger. She'll have a field day with this, You're gonna get great marks."

I smiled sheepishly. Trust him to find the best of this.

"What's shovels about then?" Harry asked, and Ron flipped back a few pages.

"Says here you're going to 'Dig Deep' soon."

"Dig Deep?"

Ron shrugged and began looking for the egg entry.

* * *

"Study Period is for studying, Amanda, not whining." Hermione muttered dryly as she made an impatient face at Harry, Ron and I.

"Really, Hermione? I can't tell with the example you're setting." I quipped back, embarrassed that she had to say something. She shot me a dirty look and went back to checking Harry's potions assignment 'for the final time'.

I glanced at Candice, who was too deep into her Arithmancy textbook to notice anything around her, and turned back to Harry and Ron.  
We were sitting in the Library during the double study period; opting for a more enclosed environment then the study hall we usually sat in.

"So anyway," I began to whisper to the boys again, "how annoying is Snape giving me detention. I mean really."

"Only 10 points taken though," Ron stated, "if that tells us anything it was that he was being _lenient._"

We chuckled together.

"But seriously, he gives us a hard time, ALL THE TIME. Like I said, he was badgering Neville something fierce last lesson; nearly gave him a fully fledged _panic attack_ but I get detention for talking back? How is that even _allowed_?"

"We've tried to talk to other teachers about it before," Harry replied as he looked up from his Divination Work, "It's like he's untouchable. He's the _only_ teacher that acts this way. Even Quirrell was polite and he was harbouring Voldemort!"

Ron and I grimaced at the mention of He-who-shall-not-be-named but Harry ignored us.  
"That's true, though," Ron said, "Quirrell was positively _adorable _compared to Snape…"  
"Compared to Snape, the entirety of The Monster Book of Monsters are cuddly creatures, _including_ the book itself."

"That would be a more believable observation if you actually read books, Miss Marlin." A deep, gravely voice sounded out behind us. I nearly fell out of my chair in my haste to turn around.

"Professor Snape, shouldn't you be out chasing Neville about the liquid lawn he created today?" I spoke harshly, surprised and angry as the words came out of my mouth.

"You cannot talk, Miss Marlin, Your potion has exploded."

"What?" I gaped at him.

"Your potion," he spoke slowly, "has exploded."

I sat for a few moments in confusion. I followed the instructions exactly!

"How?" I asked, the words falling from my mouth.

"A sudden release of energy caused the liquid to find itself _coating the room_." Snape spoke coldly, then chuckled. It was a concerning sound.

"Luckily, You will not be alone tonight, Miss Merlin, as your friends -all of them- will be joining you." he looked over my head towards the whole of our table.

"Detention. All of you. Tonight. 5pm." He leant forward, locking his eyes with mine. They were angry; furious even.  
"Do. not. be. late."

He turned sharply and walked away, taking my breath with him.


	2. Chapter 2 - Bitterness

Here's Chapter 2, thanks for the reviews so far! I hope you all enjoy this chapter.  
Constructive Critique Welcome!

* * *

I dragged the scrubbing brush across the stone wall for what felt like the hundredth time. My potion was plastered to the wall and had set like cemete. Harry and Ron had been tasked with empting the other cauldrons, as their contents had been compromised by mine. This left Hermione and Candice scrubbing the floor. Hermione was red in the face; absolutely fuming! but so far had not said anything. I was just as angry, maybe even more so, but I was letting everyone else know about it.

"Man, this is impossible. I KNOW I followed the instructions, and the warnings in the book NEVER mentions exploding as a negative reaction!" I grumbled.  
Harry and Ron washed out the contents of another cauldron and stuck it back on the counter.

"What do you think, then? _Snape_ added something? _Eye of Bomb? Sea of Four?" _Ron joked.

I gave an unimpressed smile, and Harry shook his head.

"I don't think so, why would he do something like that to Amanda? I know he's impossible, but he wouldn't go around sabotaging a student's potions for no reason." he said. I picked up a paint scraper from it's place in the cleaning bucket that Flich had supplied for the evening and started trying to scrape the walls.

"There's a first time for everything, ay?" I muttered sorely, and Hermione threw her scrub brush at the floor and stood up, bristling with anger.

"You're really ready to blame a teacher for your own mistake?" She yelled, "So what if you _followed the potion perfectly, _mistakes happen! You can't go blaming a teacher for everything you're sore on! It was a mistake! and that's okay! at least own up to it!"

My face contorted with rage, my chest tightened and I dropped the paint scraper at my feet.

"I'm not _blaming the teacher, _Hermione, I'm saying that for a reaction this VIOLENT to occur, that it COULD have been sabotage! If i made a mistake, then probably the worst that could have happened was a colour change, like Neville's potion! but the thing EXPLODED, HERMIONE." I yelled at her, my hands planted firmly on my hips, "How is that possible WITHOUT sabotage?"

Hermione rubbed her forehead with her wet fingertips and sighed,

"Creating potions, especially at our level of education, is hard work. Weird things happen when you don't have the methods down, I'm saying that, couldn't it have possibly just been a weird thing?" She huffed, "Sure, you put in all the correct ingredients, but what if some were contaminated? Maybe the shrivelfig had been grown next to a bursting mushroom? Drawing conclusions when you haven't even BEGUN to explore the evidence is amazingly short sighted!"

"We're scraping the evidence off the WALLS, HERMIONE. I can't do much with it BUT draw conclusions!" I spoke harshly back.

The storeroom door flew open and from the darkness emerged an angry Professor Snape.

"This level of noise is too much for detention." He said in his low tone, his eyes were slits.

"Just a healthy disagreement, Sir." Harry said nonchalantly. I hoped that Snape had not been around long enough to hear the start of the argument.

"Detention is not the place for disagreement, Potter, it is the place for punishment." he said dryly, then pulled a pocket watch out of his breast pocket and glanced at it, and then around the room.

"It is time for you all to leave," He said slowly and returned the watch to his pocket, "Miss Marlin, join me in my office." He turned quickly and walked away.

I looked at Harry and Ron, who exchanged confused glances at each other and then at me, and then I looked to Hermione, who sighed in relief at the end of detention. I had a sudden snap of guilt for yelling at her. I swallowed my anger and gave her an apologetic look. She did not return it but she nodded at me, as if she accepted it.  
Candice was gathering the scrubbing brushes and heaped them into the cleaning bucket.

I walked past them, grabbed my bag from beside the door, and walked out without another word.

* * *

"Miss Marlin," Snape began in his usual low tone; the words practically dripping with a cold anger.

"Yes, Sir." I replied.

Standing upright with my tote bag over my shoulder. I pretended not to care about being in his office, but the whole room was dimly lit with heavy shadows, and it gave everything a uncomfortable feeling. It reminded me of my nightmare; the darkness, the coldness. A slither of fear snaked through my stomach, but I barely felt it over my anger; which was steadily reaching boiling point.

"It has been brought to my attention that you were the instigator of the conversation today in the library."He spoke slowly, as if to empathise his point.

_The conversation was my fault._

_It is my fault that my friends had spent the last four hours scrubbing muck off walls._

"Yes, Sir." I replied, _what of it, _I thought harshly. I was practically radiating hostility.

"and since you were the instigator," he spoke again, "you will be the only one receiving detention."

My body began to relax. All my fault, but only I will feel the repercussions from now on. I stared down at his desk and processed the feeling, letting the relief work its way to my toes.

"but," he began again, and my head snapped up to meet his eyes, "You will have to explain to the class why all their hard work has been washed down the drain."

He had a sly smile on his face; already enjoying the fact that I was to going to be hung out to dry.

"I didn't screw up," I hissed. His smile dropped.

"Speak up." he spat back.

"I didn't _do anything to make_ my potion explode." I repeated louder, slowly beginning to yell, "I followed the instructions, I made sure to be careful when moving it to the store room, hell I even put it far away from Neville's cauldron in case _his_ started spitting!"

I moved closer to the desk, towering over Snape as he sat in his chair. I was on a roll now, too angry to stop or care about repercussions.

"I didn't _cause_ that explosion, I didn't screw up. I didn't do ANYTHING that could have even LEAD to the bloody thing doing ANYTHING other then the _desired_ _result_. But if you want me to tell the class _WHY_ the bloody thing ruined everyone else's work, I'll go to the front and say '_I don't know, but it did_.' and that will be the _all _you'll be able to get out of me."

Snape stood up out of his chair and peered down at me. His expression was one of disgust, one that mirrored my own anger, but when he spoke, it was his usual calm, slow tone.

"Detention for a month," he said, "100 points from Gryffindor."

I swallowed hard. 100 points would put us behind Slytherin. I regretted my outburst, but it still felt justified.

"Leave." He spat.

I turned around and left, slamming the heavy wooden door behind me. I all but ran out of the dungeons once I reached the Main Hall, I breathed deeply and tried to regain my composure. How could I explain this to Harry, and Ron? It felt nearly impossible. Would they agree with my outburst? I knew that Hermione would not. My chest started to tighten and I felt tears spring to my eyes. I couldn't stand being still, so I started to walk to the Common Room.

* * *

Halfway there, I saw a figure three floors above me, wearing the green garb of Slytherin house.  
I grit my teeth and in my disgust and anger I began to follow them. Quietly but quickly, I shadowed them up the staircase and through corridors, and watched as they opened a door that lead to the roof.  
As the bright moonlight hit their face, I gasped silently.  
It was Draco Malfoy, with the most worried, anxious and defeated look I had ever seen.  
Instantly, my anger dissolved, and it was replaced a throbbing worry that he might actually do something drastic.

I waited outside the stone door and listened. I heard him walk to the railing and sigh, and then nothing. I stood with an ear to the door for maybe 5 minutes; my own worry growing slowly as the absence of noise became more and more overwhelming.

Slowly, I removed my ear from the door, and rubbed my eyes in frustration before taking a deep breathe and let it out slowly. I mentally prepared a story for my intrusion; I needed fresh air after detention...was that believable enough? would he recognise my existence for me to even relay my story? I shook my head, and opened the door.

The moon was full and bright, and it caused the railings to cast long shadows, and gave the area a sombre feel. Draco stood at the railing, his hands gripped the stone surface. He turned with an expression of surprise as I walked out, which I mimicked for a moment before forcing a calm demeanour.

He turned back around, focusing his attention away from me. I casually walked towards the railing and leant against it a 5 feet away.

"Marlin." He said once in acknowledgement to my presence.

"Draco," I responded, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw him grip the banister tighter.  
I knew I had caught him at a bad time. He was hunched over the bannister, his shoulders heavy. He forked his fingers through his hair, and rubbed his face quite hard. I pretended not to notice it, but my worry grew as I heard him choke a sigh.

"Draco…" I whispered, and he shot up straight and snapped his face towards me, as if he had forgotten I was there.

"What?" he hissed. I gave him an impatient look, but continued.

"Are you okay?"

"Why do you care?!" he spat, gripping the banister so tightly I was sure it would crumble beneath his fingers.

"I'd ask the same of anyone who looked like they were about to take a swan dive off the side of a castle." He dropped his gaze and squared his jaw. I felt disgust at myself for being so crass as it was probably the worst thing for him to hear.

"I'm… sorry." I whispered. We stood in silence for a few moments. My face felt hot. I was embarrassed by myself for being so hostile to his valid expression of defence.

His grip of the stone railing relaxed and he sighed deeply.

"I'm going through some..._shit _right now." He muttered, and flattened his hair down again.  
He stared at me, as if daring me to ask what.

"Doesn't everyone?" I countered slyly, not playing his game. He gave a wry smile and massaged the palm of his right hand with his left hand's thumb.

"Why are you up here?" he asked, and my stomach flipped.

"Detention," I lied, "I wanted some fresh air, after being in those stuffy dungeons half the night."

He cocked an eyebrow at me as if I had insulted his home. Well, I had, actually, so I made a cheeky face at him in an attempt to lighten the mood.  
He looked up at the moon, and I watched him contemplate something; his expression changing second by second as his thought process progressed.

"Have you ever," he begun, "been forced to do something, that just might destroy you emotionally…if you actually did it."

"I spent 4 hours scraping gunk off the wall, don't talk to me about being emotionally dead inside." I said dryly. Draco gave me a sour look.

"Seriously though, no. I haven't." I replied. He pursed his lips tight and furrowed his brows.

"Look Draco, I'm probably the last person you'll ever want to talk to, but if you ever need someone-"

"Then I'd talk to my own house members." He cut me off, staring at me angrily.

I gave him a worried look. A genuine look. Every ounce of worry and empathy I could ever possibly express was cultivated in to this one moment of expression. He looked at me quizzically. I knew that he was wondering if I was messing with him, that I didn't actually care, but decided, as he nodded slowly and looked away, that I did mean it. That it didn't matter if we had hated each other; I was worried about him at this moment, and that must have meant something to him.

"Okay," he continued, brushing the railing with his hand, "Alright."

I turned around and leant back against the railing.

"I won't let Harry know." I said, and Draco shot me a dark look. I laughed.

"I won't let anyone know. Not even Candice." I spoke seriously, and tilted my head towards him, "There's no way anyone would even know we're talking. We hate each other, remember?"

He nodded, and bit at his lip, then put his right hand out for us to shake hands. I took it.

"Marlin." He said, keeping his eyes locked on mine, "it's late, and you've been terrible."

"Likewise, Draco." I replied, "You've got a shit head teacher and I hope you hate yourself for it."

He grinned, and left.


	3. Chapter 3 - Calignosity

Chapter 3! I hope you all enjoy. Feel free to leave Constructive Critique!  
Feel free to leave reviews on Anon, but remember that when you do I cannot contact you, so I cannot ask you to explain what you mean.  
I apologise for not understanding straight away, I'm not the best at communicating over the internet; I need to ask a lot of questions!  
Thank you for reading!

A/N The friend of mine who drew the Cover Art has helped me go over the story, so a few things have changed edited for spelling or grammer, or for the sake of clarity.  
She's going to help me which each chapter from now on, so they'll probably come out a bit slower then usual.

* * *

I was surrounded by Darkness.

A thick darkness. It felt heavy against my body; a noticeable, tangible weight.  
But apart from this weight, there was nothing else, expect the sound of dripping liquid.  
Loud and steady, it echoed inside my skull. I did not know if it was water, or my blood, slowly draining from its source.

I knew I couldn't move. Not because I had tried, but because I just _knew_ that it wouldn't work.  
I just _knew _that no amount of effort or struggle would help.  
I _knew _that there was no point.

So I was there. Alone. In the darkness.  
The infinately heavy, oppressive darkness.  
The only sounds the steady dripping of an unknown liquid against a floor I could not feel or sense.

Over time, I began to hear the scraping sound of footsteps.  
They were very quiet at first, hidden by droplets, but slowly, they became louder, and closer.

Panic rose in my chest as the scraping footsteps progressed.

They continued for a long time, slowly getting louder and closer.  
Soon they were so close to me, barely feet away from where I was.

I heard them slow; the scrape became slower, though closer.

Slowly, a step landed inches away from my ear.

Then Silence.

"_Lumos."_

* * *

"Are you okay?"

"Amanda?"

I could barely register their voice.

"You were crying in your sleep…are you okay?"

_A girl's voice,_ the thought floated through my mind. I could barely grasp hold of it.

"Amanda, if you don't answer me, I'm going to get Madam Pomfrey."

_She sounds worried, _I thought more solidly, _maybe I should answer._

I opened my mouth to say something, but only a low, garbled groan just came out.  
I felt a hand on my forehead, and then my right eyelid was pulled open.  
There stood Hermione, her usual worried expression covering her face.

"Amanda, you're really scaring me."  
Her voice was low, and wavered slightly in panic.

"Nightmare…" I managed to groan, and then she let go of my eye. It snapped closed unceremoniously.

"You had a nightmare?...Can you move?"  
I tried to move my head but I couldn't get the muscles to co-operate.

"Noooo…" I moaned.

"Hmm," she spoke thoughtfully, you're probably having sleep paralysis."

Another pause; then I heard her sigh.

"You'll have to wait that out, then. You can't do much until you wake up properly."  
The bed weighed down at one side.

"I'll wait with you."

* * *

"Sleep Paralysis," Hermione began, "is rare but only happens when a person is waking up. Basically, you're awake before your body is awake."

Thankfully I was able to move again and had already dressed for class. I brushed my hair slowly; more interested in her speech then my actions.

"How does that even work?" I asked, "I couldn't move at all! but I could still breathe...and barely talk."

Hermione nodded, looking excited to explain her answer.

"When you're in the REM portion of your sleep schedule, your brain releases chemicals that temporarily paralyse you. You're still able to breathe, but it prevents you get getting up and walking around, or worse. Sometimes, you wake up while those chemicals are still affecting you."She spoke matter of factly, "Unfortunately, people can still 'dream' in this state, and will see things around them. They're not usually the friendliest of apparitions…" she trailed off, and shuddered.

I guessed then that she had fallen victim to her own brain chemistry before. I supposed I was lucky to not see these apparitions, only my friend.  
But was all of it sleep paralysis? Did those echoing footsteps belong to Hermione, just enhanced by my Paralysis? Or were they apart of the dream?  
My stomach tensed as I remembered the darkness. So oppressive. That _had_ to be apart of a nightmare.

"Thanks Hermione," I said, throwing the hair brush on my unmade bed, "for waking me up and staying with me."

She gave me a small smile and picked up her bag from beside her bed.

"It's alright," she said, "come on, let's go to breakfast, before we miss out."

I smiled back, and did the same.

* * *

When we got there, The Great Hall was all but abandoned.  
It was nearing First Period, and practically all the students had already left for their classes.

"Running a bit late, Amanda?" Ron chortled, giving me a humorous look. He, Harry and Candice had waited for us at the almost empty Gryffindor table.

"Oh, just having a waking nightmare, Ron, can't leave without saying a proper goodbye, you know." I responded with an exasperated expression as if I had been stuck talking to chatty relatives.

Ron's eyebrows shot up in surprise and Harry nodded sagely, pretending as if he knew exactly what I meant.  
I gave a short laugh, and took a seat on the next to Candice, Hermione sat opposite her.  
Candice gave Hermione a small smile, and poured her a cup of Pumpkin juice. I suspected that Candice had asked Hermione to check up on me, but I wasn't sure.  
I looked at the leftovers from Breakfast that sat on the table, but felt an incredible lack of appetite.  
I decided to skip the most important meal of the day.

"Charms first up," Ron reminded us, "No homework due."

"Thankfully." I added, pouring myself some water, "I'm sure some will be set today, Flitwick likes making us work over the weekend."

I scanned the Great Hall as the others continued talking about Charms. It was almost impressive how few students littered the tables. The Hall felt so much larger. The Hufflepuff Table was abandoned, Ravenclaw had a few stragglers. Our table consisted of our group and a few of the older students who knew the exact time down to the second it would take to make it to class, and the Slytherin table was empty, expect for-

"What's _Malfoy _doing there by himself?" Ron suddenly grumbled, glowering at the lonesome prefect, "shouldn't he be taking points off the first years?"

I studied Draco; he looked gaunt and sullen, as if he had spent the night locked up.  
_Maybe he had? _The thought shot through my brain, _maybe he had a nightmare too?_

"Silly." I said out loud to myself. Ron looked at me.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"...He's silly to be here," I saved, "Slytherin have Herbology...no way he going to get to the greenhouse in time."

Ron made a face, but turned his attention back to the conversation. I chewed the inside of my cheek in worry and watched Draco for a while longer.

He just stared at the table, resting his chin on his hand. His face forsake only a sliver the anxiety I'm sure he felt..

"If we don't leave now, we'll never make it to Charms," Candice said suddenly, looking at the pocket watch I had given her last year for Christmas,

"We really should go…"

Hermione nodded, and picked up her bag.

"Don't have much a choice when they're ready, ay." Ron muttered, and did the same.

* * *

"Alright Students, Today we're learning the Silencing Charm." Professor Flitwick spoke loudly in his musical tone.

He pointed his wand to a small yellow bird that sat in a cage made of bent twigs on his desk.

It was making high pitched tittering noises and bouncing around excitedly.

"_silencio" _He said sharply, and immediately the bird's chittering ceased. It continued to bounce, and attempt to make sounds, but it's vocalings were no more.

"This charm is difficult," the Professor said, "So I don't expect you'll get it today...Which is why practising it will be your homework if you do not succeed in casting by the end of the class."

I groaned, knowing now exactly how I was going to spend my weekend.

The Professor spent some time showing us the right way to flick our wands, the correct way to pronounce the charm, and how to remove the charm in case we needed to.

"And you will need to, because what happens if you do not perform the Silencing Charm correctly?" The Professor asked with a smile on his face. Hermione's hand shot up, and he pointed to her.

"If preformed incorrectly, the silencing charm will cause the target to swell to an incredible size and make loud, deafening sounds."

"Correct!" The Professor grinned, "5 points to Gryffindor."  
Hermione smiled to herself.

We collected our birds from the next room and set them up for practice.

"Alright," I said slowly, "Do we get any earmuffs for when we screw up?"

"Punishment for imperfection." Candice grimaced, and readied her wand.

I blocked my ears with my fingers and she smiled slightly while rolling her eyes at me.

_Silencio, _I saw her mouth the word. The bird was still for a moment, so I assumed the best and took my fingers out of my ears. Then the bird expanded rapidly in size, and a shrill squawking filled the room, which was then joined by more birds as other students also failed their first try.

"We're going to have so much homework." I grunted, although it was impossible to hear.

* * *

"That went well." Harry said as we exited the classroom.

"WHAT?" Ron yelled, temporarily deaf.

Harry shook his head and waved his hand in dismissal. Ron gave a confused look, but continued normally.

"At least we have plans for the weekend." I spoke encouragingly, "Just means we have to push Qudditch practice back even _earlier." _I scoffed, "will anyone else even be awake? Or will we have to bring in one of the charmed birds as an alarm clock?"

Harry and Ron laughed, and looked at each other as if they were considering it.

I looked behind the group to Candice dawdling behind; already reviewing the two feet of notes she had scribbled down during class. Poor thing, I thought, she tries so hard. I absently remembered how often she studied; barely a moment went by where she wasn't.  
I nudged her and spoke quietly;

"Hey Candice, want to come watch us practice tomorrow morning?" breaking her out of her trance.

"Um, maybe," She replied, "I might read ahead on Potions…"

"Come on, Candice, some freezing cold winter air might be good for your soul," I joked, "maybe we'll even get Hermione to come with. You can study with her in the seats."

"well…" she said, though it looked like she had already decided to go; the mention of Hermione obviously sealing the deal. I gave a chuckle and looked up to scope out the other three from the crowd, but the pale blonde hair of Draco Malfoy stopped me short as I saw him step into an empty classroom; the same worried face he had on this morning.

"Hey…" I started, "I think I left something in Charms…" I patted my pockets in a feeble attempt to trick her, "I'll have to go back and check...I'll see you in Transfigurations, okay?"  
Candice nodded, and went back to her notes; walking slowly as not to walk into anyone or anything. I frowned slightly in disbelief at her just accepting my lame excuse, but walked back and waited around the corner until she had left before making my way cautiously to the classroom Draco had ducked into.

I knocked twice softly on the door.  
No answer.  
_Obviously, _I thought, _He's hiding_. _Duh._

I slowly turned the handle, and opened the old, wooden door.

Draco sat on a desk facing the back of the room; his feet on the chair. He was slouching, leaning his arms against his thighs and resting his bodyweight on them. He gave me a sullen look as I closed the door behind me.

"You skipped class." I spoke matter of factly.

"How do you know?" He frowned, lifting himself up a little, obviously interested in what I had to say.

"You had Herbology," I said, "Class has barely just ended, and yet you're third floor."

"And how do _you know _that I had Herbology," He quizzed, his expression slightly lighter.

"I used to make it my business to stay out of your business." I said with a smile, and took a few steps towards the middle of the room where he sat.

"I wouldn't want to cross paths with you or anything," I said cheekily.

Draco chuckled and looked up at me.

"That's pretty pathetic, Marlin." He replied, his grin lingering. I cocked an eyebrow.

"I'm pathetic? then what are you doing on the third floor?" I spoke with a sly smile, and he gave me a defeated look.

"Well," he said, "I used to employ a similar practice."

"Shocking." I laughed, and leant against the desk opposite his. We sat in silence for a few moments, staring at the floor.

"Are you okay?" I asked quietly, "I saw you this morning, at breakfast…"

"The food here is terrible," he replied in a joyless tone, "anyone would look like I did if they existed on a diet of it."  
I gave his a tight lipped smile. He was trying to evade the question.

"It didn't look like it had to do anything with food. There wasn't any on your plate."

"I was starving to death and wondering if my plate would complement the pumpkin juice." He evaded again.  
I grit my teeth in frustration. He's upset, so obviously upset, but if he doesn't want to talk, then I can't force him to.

"Look, Draco…" I started, and he looked up at me. His eyes were dark, tired and bloodshot. I felt a pang of guilt, knowing I that if I had to to push him, it would hurt him. It overcame me and I folded.  
"Nothing goes well with ceramic plates, you know that."

He looked down, ignoring my quip. I stared at him. He looked 100 times worse than how he was at the start of the year. I didn't know what was causing this. The workload? His Parents?

I gingerly reached my hand out, and rested it on his arm; he looked at it but didn't shrug me away. I squeezed slightly, attempting to comfort.

"You don't have to tell me anything. Not ever, if you don't want to," I spoke slowly, softly, staring into his eyes in case he looked up at me, "even if I'm in a different house, even if we used to sneer insults at each other and attempt to hex each other's shoes...I'm here for you."

He didn't look up; he just stared at my hand. I let go, and his gaze followed it for a moment before looking away. We sat for a few minutes in silence, and I watched him as he slowly regained his composure. He looked up at me and nodded, before scooting off the desk.

"Marlin." He said my name once.

"Draco." I replied. He walked past me and left the room, closing the door softly behind him.  
I sighed in relief. At least he felt better now.

* * *

"Where were you?" Harry asked me as we lined up outside the Transfigurations Classroom.

"Hmm?"

"You weren't with us a break," He repeated, "Neither was Candice."

"Oh, I left something behind in class, and I think Candice wondered off to study." I answered, and saw Candice turn into our corridor, still reading the same 2 feet of parchment.

"She probably walked straight here," I joked to Harry as we watched her slowly plod along.

The Transfiguration door opened and the line started to file into the classroom. I walked off and grabbed Candice by the arm and lead her in, so she wouldn't be late. She didn't look up; She was already used to me doing this.

"Good Day, Gryffindor Students," Professor McGonagall greeted us, "How are we today?"

"Pretty good!" A student called out, to the chuckles of a few others. McGonagall seemed in a good mood today, giving the room a stern smile for their response.

"Good," She replied, and pointed her wand towards a tea cup that sat on her desk.

"Today, we are transfiguring Ceramic Cups into Glass Cups," she began, "We have covered something similar before, with turning Ceramic Cups into Wooden Goblets, so I expect everyone to be able to do this by the end of the lesson."

I glanced at Candice, who gave me the same look. We sighed in unison.

* * *

"Progress is Progress," Hermione said cheerfully to Ron, brushing fragments of glass off her clothes, "You and Candice are doing really well compared to last time."

"Splinters," Ron shuddered, "so many Splinters."

Harry and I laughed, and I shook my tote bag vigorously, dislodging the evidence of my own failed attempts. We carefully made our way out of the Transfiguration Corridor, which was already being blocked off by Filch for an emergency cleaning.

"Defense against the Dark Arts," Ron announced, "We'll be there after a good 10 minutes travel time."

"Yuk," I pretended to gag, "no thanks."

"Don't like Defense the Dark Arts, Amanda?" Harry said with a small smile, baiting me to react.

"Don't you start," I hissed back. Harry chuckled.

I glanced around to find Candice who was again straggling behind, her head in her notes.  
I slowed down and walked next to her, dramatically sticking my nose in her work.

"Progress is progress, Candice," I said, affectionately mimicking Hermione, "You've come a long way from splinters."  
Candice frowned slightly at me. I knew what she was thinking, that glass shards weren't good enough but what Hermione said was true.  
We walked out to the Grand Staircase and waited behind a group of younger students as they descended the stairs.

"Got your stuff ready for Defence?" Candice said, watching Hermione, Ron and Harry begin to descend the stairs as they conversed together.

"Eh, I'm never ready for that class. It's almost as bad as Sn-augh!" I huffed, the breath forced out of me. I fell forwards, tripping on the steps and falling down the staircase. I felt my shoulder cruncn as it hit a step, and heard a crack in my neck. A high pitched scream rang out, and then…

There was darkness.


	4. Chapter 4 - Dissolution

Here's the newest chapter! Please enjoy and review!  
Thanks again to Jess (who also drew the banner for the story) who helps me proof-read and rewrite the chapters!  
A/N I looked up what a 'Mary Sue' is and I'm sorry that the character comes across that way!  
Although personally I do not feel that she is a 'Mary Sue' (and have taken the 'Universal Mary Sue Litmus test with a result of 17 and the 'Harry Potter 'Mary Sue' RPG Test' with a score of 3), but I will try to write her as a more rounded character then she has appeared in the last few chapters. I apologize if it has been the reading experience any less enjoyable, but thank you for reading anyway!

* * *

I woke to a throbbing ache that violently threatened to split my skull in two.  
I groaned quietly, unsure whether being awake was the best decision.

"Madam Pomfrey, is she okay?"

"She'll be fine, Dear; She'll wake up in her own time."

I stirred, and opened my eyes. Dark outlines of four people surrounded me; but the light was too bright and horribly pained my eyes. I closed them quickly.

"Erughhh," I groaned louder, and covered my eyes with my right hand. The arm felt slightly stiff.

"Amanda!" Ron's hushed voice declared, "You're awake!"

"Unfortunately," I mumbled back, rubbing my eyes.

"You … took a bit of a tumble." Hermione's voice put delicately. Who else was here?

"Was that before or after my neck broke?" I muttered jokingly. There was silence.

"I actually broke my neck?" I was surprised. I had heard a crack when I fell, and it seemed almost obvious.  
I heard a sleepy sigh exhaled next to me.

"Well, not 'break'," Madam Pomfrey spoke softly, "You suffered a slipped vertebrae in your neck, and your shoulder was dislocated."

"I've got a killer headache…" I groaned, moving my hand from my eyes to my forehead and rubbing it softly, believing as if the action would soothe it.

"Must be a concussion." Madam Pomfrey said, "I'll get you something for it, Dear. Be back in a tick."  
I heard her heels clack quickly against the tile floor as she hurried off.

"What time is it?" I asked those who remained, hoping I had slept till the weekend.

"4 O'clock," Hermione stated, "on Friday."

"I was only out 3 hours?" I asked sadly, "How is that even possible?"

"Magic." Ron said seriously, but I couldn't help but laugh. A piercing pain shot through my skull.

"Ouch, no laughing. It slays me." I whimpered and heard Ron chuckle quietly to himself. I pressed my fingertips against my forehead harder in an attempt to massage the pain away, and slowly opened my eyes again, this time they did not sting as badly.  
I made out the blurry forms of Ron, Hermione and Harry standing around me.

"Where's Candice?" I asked, I saw their heads turn to look to the right of me.  
I looked to the right; Candice was sitting on the chair next to my hospital bed. She had a Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook open her lap, but she was fast asleep.

"She skipped class to watch over you," Hermione said.

"Oh Wow." I said in amazement, "Seriously?"

"Yeah," Ron replied, "She didn't even consider coming with us. As soon as you were wheeled in she sat down, and when we realised we were late she just said she didn't care about class."  
My chest swelled as I knew how highly Candice valued her studies, and had never missed a class in her entire tenure at Hogwarts. I looked back at the other three, who were now not as blurry as they once were.  
I finally saw Hermione's and Ron's worried expressions and Harry's very angry one, and I remembered why I was here.

"I was pushed." I stated calmly; it was fact.

"You fell," Harry's reply came quickly, "Probably tripped. Those stairs are a death trap."

"Harry-" Hermione started, but Harry shot her an impatient look. She frowned back.

"I was pushed," I said louder, "I felt hands on my back. I didn't just trip."

"Candice told us that you were pushed," Hermione said, ignoring Harry's angry look, "and she said she heard someone running away, but didn't see anyone around."

"How is that possible?" I asked desperately, "Did they take an invisibility potion or something?"  
Hermione glared at Harry, who frowned deeply for a few moments and sighed.

"What is it?" I asked, worried at their wordless exchange.

"The person who pushed you was invisible, and we know how they did it, but…" Harry started, but stopped to look back at Hermione with a frown. Hermione glanced away in frustration but started to speak.

"Harry's got an invisibility cloak." She stated, causing Harry to frown deeper.

"Wow," I said simply, "where'd you get that?" I asked.

"Family heirloom," Harry said through gritted teeth, "it was my fathers."

"And it's last this long?" I asked in amazement and smiled broadly at him for telling me. I knew his parents were a sore spot for him.

"It's really rather impressive," Hermione replied, "It works amazingly well."

"But it's a secret, okay? You can't tell anyone." Harry said quickly, "not even Candice, okay?"  
He glanced over at her almost suspiciously.

"Okay," I agreed, understanding that an object like that would be highly sort after the World Over.  
We were silent for a moment, and I contemplated what they said.

"You're telling me that...the person, who pushed me, also stole Harry's invisibility clock?" I repeated slowly, the cogs churning in my concussed mind. The throbbing pain did not help.

"Yeah." Harry replied sullenly.

"We found it after Defense against the Dark Arts. It was draped over a chair in the corridor outside the classroom. We only noticed it because Ron tripped on it." Hermione said, and looked over to Ron, whom I noticed was favoring his right leg. I gave him an apologetic smile. He looked longingly at the chair Candice was snoozing on.

"So, you've got it back?" I asked quietly, "Everything's okay?"

"Everything's okay, expect that someone threw you down the stairs," Ron said, "That's not okay."  
I grimaced, but knew it was true. Was it a prank gone wrong? Or did whoever it was premeditate the act?  
Madam Pomfrey appeared suddenly with a small bottle of a thick, orange coloured potion.

"Here you go," she said as she handed me the concoction, "This will settle that headache."

"Thank you," I said as I took it from her hands. I drank it quickly but it very nearly came back up.  
It tasted horribly metallic and burned my throat. The throbbing in my head slowed its pace.

"Ugh!" I gagged, "can't I have something to wash it down with?"

"You can get it yourself if you like," Madam Pomfrey replied, "You're free to go!"

"Already?" I asked in surprise, "I had a broken neck!"

"You had slipped vertebrae," she corrected sternly, "that I fixed within minutes of you arriving. Off you trot then, don't want to miss supper."  
I sat up, and shook my head in a vain attempt to remove the taste and expel the rest of the concussion.

"Gross," I whined, "It tastes like I bit in to a rusty iron rod."  
Ron and Hermione gave sympathetic smiles, but Harry was still very angry and upset.  
I got up and grabbed my things before carefully woke Candice, who was amazingly surprised that I was up and about.

"Thanks for staying with me," I said softly to her as she put away her Defence Against the Dark Arts book into her bag. It was already bludging with books and parchment.

"Well I wasn't going to leave, was I?" she replied, "I'm the only one who knows you were pushed; the other 3 believe you tripped." She looked upset and glanced at the three behind us, "I wasn't just going to leave you here unprotected. What if they came back?"

"You fell asleep!" I said humorously with a smile, "but thanks anyway Candice...it means a lot to me."  
I looked back at Harry, Ron and Hermione. Hermione and Harry were shooting each other angry looks while Ron stood with Harry looking awfully frustrated for him and his situation.  
I shot a good natured look at Candice, and she grabbed my things for me and insisted on carrying them.

* * *

We took our dinner in the crowded Great Hall. Its occupants were loud and cheerful, though our group sat in the middle of the riotous Gryffindor table keeping to ourselves and chatting quietly. I was incredibly thankful for the potion Madam Pomfrey gave me. What was left of my headache melted away as we entered the Great Hall, though I still didn't feel like eating.  
I had piled potato salad and steak on to my plate, though ate it very slowly. I drank a lot of the pumpkin juice to remove the terrible taste of the potion that stained my mouth, but it was a hard taste to remove and the aftertaste kept coming back.

"I've got detention in twenty minutes." I said mournfully; picking at my potatoes with my fork, "I can't believe I still have to go."

"Well you don't really have an excuse," Hermione said, "You're perfectly healthy now."

"I know, but I broke my neck! And Merlin knows what Snape's going to make me do."

"Yeah, what if he has her carrying cauldrons around?" Candice spoke up, refilling mine and Hermione's drinks, "That wouldn't do her any good."

"Maybe you can ask for lines or something," Ron said, "though being Snape…"

"I'd be lucky if I survive the night." I whined. I looked over at Harry, who was still very upset and barely eating anything either. He stared up at the ceiling as if his mind was a million miles away.

"Could just skip." Ron stated with a full mouth, bringing my attention back to the conversation.

"And what, get more detention as punishment?" Hermione replied, "It's just best Amanda goes." She turned to me and lifted her cup, intending to drink, "Just mention that you fell down the stairs. If he makes you do anything that hurts you again, just go back to the infirmary and ask Madam Pomfrey to get Professor McGonagall!"

"Yeah, you're right Hermione…"I nodded solemnly, accepting my fate.  
I ate the rest of my meal slowly, in silence. Hermione, Ron and Candice chatted about Potions and the assignment that was due for it this Wednesday.  
Harry did not seem to be very sociable, and excused himself without finishing his meal.  
I rushed after him and we walked out the Great Hall together. The area outside the doors was empty of people but the sound of the Hall bled through the thick, large doors.

"Harry…"I started and he still looked quite upset, "Thank you for telling me about your Invisibility Cloak, I promise that I won't tell anyone about it at all, but…"

"But?" He said impatiently. I swallowed nervously.

"Well, you know I was pushed today, and who ever did it is obviously committed enough to find out about and steal one of your most secret possessions…" I trailed off, trying to express my feelings correctly, "I was wondering if you would be able to walk me back to Gryffindor House after detention...I don't want to be pushed down another staircase, especially so late at night."  
Harry thought for a few moments and looked at me as if he were weighing our friendship on a scale against his anger at the whole situation. Slowly, he nodded.

"Alright," he said, "but I'll have to use my invisibility cloak. If you get stopped by Prefects, they'll know you were at Detention, but if I do, they'll deduct points from Gryffindor, and we don't need any more taken away."  
It was an obvious reference at my 100 point offense the night before. Guilt bubbled in my stomach.

"Thank you, Harry," I said, "Thank you so much." I gave him an appreciative smile and he gave me a small, forced one in response.

* * *

I stood outside Snape's Office in the underground dungeon corridor. The air was stale and cold and at times I could see my breath. I looked down the corridor into the bleak darkness that threatened to crawl into the only lit area of the walkway where I stood. I was reminded of my nightmare from this morning and unconsciously flexed my fingers to test if I could still move. I shuddered as I heard footsteps; they were reminiscent of those from my dream.

"Miss Marlin." Professor Snape said as he approached me, "I've been informed that attempted to take a shortcut down the Grand Staircase today."  
I grit my teeth. My anger already threatening to flare. I knew he was just trying to get a negative response out of me. _Not today_, I vowed, _I will not lash out today._

Snape opened his Office Door with a wave of his wand and walked inside. I followed behind him and was immediately surprised by the decor. It was originally a large room, now strangled for space thanks to the shelves of potion ingredients and oddities that covered almost every wall. A fireplace sat against the last free wall, and on a stand over the toasty fire sat a large cauldron, a brew bubbling inside. A locked cabinet sat in the corner looking very worn due to use.

"Sit." Snape commanded, and inclined his head towards an uncomfortable wooden chair and rickety looking table. I was sure did not usually hold residence in his office.

He took a seat in a plush looking high-backed armchair before laying a mess of parchment down on the dark round table. It was already covered in books and paper. I was surprised that it held any room for more objects.

I sat heavily on the chair and dropped my bag at my feet. I hadn't returned to the Common Room because there was no time as detention started at 5pm; I headed straight here after talking with Harry who promised he would return at 1am.

Snape left the room for a few minutes and returned with a large bag full of untendered potion ingredients, a bag full of small vials and bottles, and a bucket of water that he placed on the floor near my feet.

"Your detention is to prepare these ingredients as per the instructions on this parchment." he said as he reached in to his cloak and removed roll of parchment from inside. I took it from him and unravelled it; it was 3 feet long and covered in thick, but small handwriting. He heaped the ingredients on to the table and handed me a small knife. He walked to his desk and began to sort through the papers there.

I looked at the parchment. I was going to be subjected to 7 hours of cleaning, cutting, slicing, powdering, dicing and bottling potion ingredients. I restrained a sigh and looked up at Professor Snape. He was staring at me; waiting for an expression of defeat or regret, or indeed any sign that I was miserable. Instead I stared him down. Anger slowly trickled through my stomach and I was slowly starting to frown.

"Get started." He said once, coldly, and turned back to his papers.  
I took a calming breath and read the first item on the list.

_Harass Flubberworms for their Mucus; capture 300ml of mucus inside 15ml vials._

I searched through the bag of ingredients he had placed on to the table. Sure enough, I found a bottle as thick and tall as my hand that housed a tremendous amount of Flubberworms. The bottle was almost full to the brim with them. They were crawling over each other and wriggling.  
I gave the bottle a disgusted look and inside the worms began to shudder and ooze green mucus.  
It was going to be a long, incredibly grubby night.

* * *

Finally, I had reached the last entry on the list.

_Separate Starthistle bulbs and bottle._

I looked at down at the filthy desk which was now covered in mucus, skin, insect guts, water, the remnants of powdered, chopped, sliced and diced ingredients of every variety. I reread the last entry. _Separate and bottle?_

It was the simplest entry on the list. _Amazing, I was practically done_. If I finished what he had planned for detention, was I allowed to leave early?  
I rolled the parchment for what felt like the thousandth time and dropped it on to my lap; which was still wet from recoiling when one of the dead scarab beetles I had to wash before powdering _miraculously _came back to life.  
I lifted the bale of Starthistle and was just about to begin to pick off the tiny bulbs that grew off the stalk of the plant when Professor Snape cleared his throat.

"Detention has finished."

"What?"

"Detention is over," he said, "You may leave."  
I looked at the collection of bottles that covered the floor of Snape's office.  
Was all that really 7 hours work?

"I will take care of the bottles," he said, "Return to Gryffindor dorm."  
I looked up at him, then down at the StarThistle bale that I still held. It was devastating to have reached the last item on the list only to run out of time. I set the Starthistle down on the table and grabbed my bag from underneath the desk. It was also wet and covered in various powders. I frowned, knowing I would have to clean it.

"Goodbye, Miss Marlin." Snape said impatiently and stood, ushering me out of the room.  
I walked out slowly. Professor Snape attempted to close the door on me while I was still in the process of exiting through it.

"Ugh," I said disgustedly, angry for the first time in hours, "Ugh ugh ugh."

"I couldn't have said it better." Harry's voice spoke with a chuckle. I looked to the right of me where I had heard his voice but saw nothing but the darkness of the dungeon corridor.

"Harry?" I asked. There was no one around.

"I'm under the cloak, remember?" he whispered, and his head popped into existence. His hair was messy, and his face tired but smiling.

"Th-thanks," i stuttered, put off by his bodiless apparition, "This is too weird."  
He gave me a grin; apparently in better spirits then he was at dinner.  
"Come on; let's get to bed." he said, "We're up in five hours for practice."

"Gosh," I said, "forgot that was even on." We began walking out of the Potions corridor. It was cold, and quiet. The only sounds being our footsteps clacking against the stone floor.  
The sound reminded me of that morning's nightmare. I shivered in fear.

"Cold?" Harry asked, giving me a curious look.

"Wet, mostly." I said, trying to recover from my moment of anxiety as I indicated to my skirt and bag, "he had me washing live scarab beetles. It's a mess in there."

"Hah hah, that'd be a sight," Harry replied, "Well, he can clean it up."

"He'd have to. I practically left a maze of bottled ingredients on the floor. He'd either clean it up, or spend an hour getting to the door."  
Harry laughed; it was genuine and strong. I hadn't heard him laugh like this for a while.  
I smiled up at him, and he grinned back.

"This is the weirdest conversation I've ever had." I told him, and looked down at where his body should have been. His apparition ended at his collarbone.

"Why, is this your first time conversing with a floating head?" he chuckled and covered himself again completely with his cloak.

"Well it's probably weirder now. Will I run into you?" I asked, reaching my hand out to try and touch his cloak.

"I'll stay behind you," he said and I snapped my head around to locate his voice. He had moved behind me. I didn't even hear his shoes on the stone floor..

"Spooky." I joked and we walked out of the dungeons towards the Grand Staircase.

I ascended the stairs carefully and kept an eye out in case anyone was around. I saw a Prefect walking up a staircase to the third floor.  
On the Sixth floor we had to wait for one of the moving staircases to move into position. I stood there for a few moments and wondered where on the landing Harry stood.

"Amanda!" I heard Draco's voice and whirled around to find him in the archway to the Sixth floor corridor.

"Draco?" I asked in surprise, knowing that Harry was nearby. My stomach flipped as I realised that be pretend that Draco and I were still on less then admirable terms.

"What the heck do you want?" I said, pretending to be angry. I walked over to him with a fake, angry confidence. I stood facing him, hoping that Harry was behind me but not truly knowing.

"I heard you fell down the stairs today and-"

"What. Come to mock me, have you?" I hissed, frowning slightly before continuing,

" 'Can't use your own feet, Marlin?' " I mimicked him venomously, "Grow up, Draco."

"What? No, I-"  
I stared at him with wide eyed caution. I hoped he understood, but it was hard to convey what was happening around us in just a look. It felt like too much to get across; so complicated and impossible to express in one facial expression.

"_Leave It Alone, Draco Malfoy." _I spoke strong but slowly, my voice wavered once. I hoped that he would pick on it, and desperately hoped that Harry would not.  
I saw Draco swallow nervously. He had a look of shock and fear; then his expression began to change, to boil over to frustration and anger. He stared at me in contempt.

"Disgusting." he spat; He said it with such vulgarly and malice. I felt hurt, but inside I hoped that he had caught on that it wasn't safe to talk here.  
He turned and walked away, his fists clenched.  
I let out a shaky breath.

"Wow." Harry said behind me. I flinched as he spoke.

"He really hates you." He joked. I turned my head slightly towards his voice but he was not there; still invisible. My stomach was heavy with guilt, and did not want to talk to him.

"Let's go." I muttered and walked up the staircase that had finally appeared.


	5. Chapter 5 - Endure

Sorry for the late chapter! I wasn't able to meet with Jess until today. I hope you all enjoy the new chapter!  
Chapters are going to come out even slower because we're both going back to school. I'll try to fit in writing time as much as possible but I can't promise speedy chapters. I apologise in advance for their lateness!  
Thank you for reading! please leave constructive critiques!  
If there's anything about this story that is not up to par, please leave it in a review!  
I want to improve but it's hard to pinpoint which areas I'm lacking in because I don't have a trained eye for it!

* * *

The Gryffindor Quidditch players crowded around the Common Room in the most tired state I had ever seen them.  
It was early Saturday Morning and the sun hadn't yet broken over the horizon.  
I shuffled my feet in a vain attempt to warm up, while Candice and Hermione sat in front of the fire; huddling in its glow in anticipation of our morning at the frozen Quidditch Pitch. I pulled my quidditch robes closer around me and breathed out a heavy mist.  
We were waiting for the last member of our team, Ritchie Coote, to join us so we could leave together.  
The Grandfather clock struck 5am; its loud booms echoed throughout the area.

"We couldn't have made it any earlier?" Asked Ginny sarcastically. Harry chuckled.

I yawned sleepily and rubbed my eyes, longing for the warm comfort of my bed.  
I noticed Candice fidgeting in her seat. I recognised it as one of her common anxieties; she wanted to talk but didn't feel comfortable to say anything near the intimidating Quidditch Team. I walked over to the lounge and took a seat between her and Hermione.

"What's eating you?" I asked her quietly. She leant in close as she responded.

"You got your neck broken yesterday." she muttered.

"Madam Pomfrey fixed me up," I replied, "I'm perfectly fine now."

"You know that's not what I meant." She hissed, frowning heavily at me.

"We don't know if anyone's actually trying to hurt me..." I muttered, averting my eyes from her unwavering glare.

"I saw you fall. I heard them run." She spoke slowly and glanced at Hermione who appeared to purposely avoid Candice's gaze.

"Well even if that's the case, we keep these Quidditch Practices practically secret; and it's 5am. Who would be up this early to hurt me? In front of the entire team?" I asked her quietly. She gave me a skeptical look in reply.

"It'll be alright," I told her and patted her on her back, "There are going to be 9 people on the pitch so if anything happens, someone will be able to catch me."

I saw Hermione pause suddenly out of the corner of my eye and glance at me nervously.

Ritchie Coote finally came down from the male dormitory. His descent stirred the team from their collective slumber and they all collected near the portrait hole. I got up and followed Harry outside.

"Al'right, Ritchie?" Ron asked Ritchie behind us.

"Yeah, sorry." Ritchie said slowly, "Couldn't sleep last night."

Harry made a sympathetic sound as he climbed up into the portrait hole and I sympathised with how Ritchie felt. After detention and the fiasco that was encountering Draco in the halls, I had laid in bed with worry gnawing at my stomach for another hour before passing out. I heard Harry's shoes clack against the tile of the corridor outside and proceeded to climb in after him.  
I worried silently if he had picked up on Draco's use of my first name last night.

* * *

We approached the Qudditch Pitch slowly; half of us already doing our start-up stretches. Harry slowly jogged towards the Broomshed, and opened the door, walked in and started locating the team's equipment.  
He handed me my Nimbus 1700 from its place on the rack and as he handed out the rest I inspected my broom for damage. The broomshed was easily accessible, and any of the teams could get inside of it.

"Anybody's broom need servicing?" Harry asked the group.

"Mine Does," Katie Bell said as she examined her broom's bushel, "someone's kicked it."

Harry handed her the public Broom Servicing Kit and she sat outside to work on it.  
Hermione caught up with the rest of us and walked up to me, giving my broom a wary look.

"Candice is right to worry." She said sternly, "You were pushed down a set of stairs yesterday by someone who knew what they were doing was wrong."

She still had her eyes on my Nimbus 1700. She carefully took out her wand and began to mutter spell after spell and I recognised that she was checking for hexes, jinxes and curses.  
My broom quickly begin to groan and the handle shuddered under my palms.  
"Let go!" She shouted and I threw it away from us. It groaned and suddenly snapped in two; a storm of splinters rocketed outwards. I shielded my face with my arm and felt the wooden needles pierce my flesh; Hermione quickly shouted a reflecting charm. The splinters suddenly rebounded away; arched high into the air before falling and burying themselves into the ground.

"Someone hexed your broom." Hermione huffed. "This has gone too far."

I felt the sting of the splinters in my arm as I carefully removed my jacket, thankful that I hadn't worn a long sleeved shirt today. My Team mates stood stunned. The first to break their stupor was Candice.

"What happened?!" she exclaimed as she approached us.  
My boom sat almost snapped in two. Frayed and battered as it lay on a bed of it's own shattered remains which marred the ground as far as 5 feet away. Candice's concern suddenly transformed into an amazing rage.

"See?!" She shouted, "Someone's trying to hurt you! I told you, you shouldn't have come to practice!"

I slowly approached my broom and gently picked it up; The wood was corroded.  
I felt someone grab my arm and pull it towards them. I hissed as the areas where the splinters were buried lit up in pain. I snapped my head around to see who it was.

"_Episkey_," Harry said and suddenly my arm felt very, very hot.  
I watched as the wooden splinters push themselves out of my arm as the small wounds they caused closed slowly as the burning heat drained away, leaving my arm feel very cold in comparison.

"Dumbledore." Harry grunted angrily.

"But-" I started,

"Now." He said through gritted teeth. I glanced over at Hermione, who gave me a tight lipped grimace and began to walk back towards the Castle. Candice followed after her quickly, already asking questions.

I looked back at Harry. His eyes were furious but he hadn't let go.

"Harry-" I murmured and weakly pulled back my arm; he dropped it instantly.

"Come on, Gryffindor," he said loudly, "to the pitch."

He turned and walked away, the watching team shot me worried looks.  
I stared after Harry as he continued to the pitch, his back to me. Ritchie cautiously approached me; his eyes locked on my twig of a broom.

"Are you alright?" Ritchie asked, still staring.

"I, um...I think." I replied. Ritchie gave me a sad shrug and lightly jogged after Harry and the others. I turned around and hurried to catch up with Hermione, who had paused a little way up the path with Candice.

Candice was furious. It was the most angry I had ever seen her but she was managing to keep most of it bottled. She ground her hands together under the guise of warming them and stood with a frown carved so deeply on her face it was as if she had never worn a different expression. She glanced frequently back and forth between me and Hermione, who looked also on the edge of exploding. We walked to the Castle in a tense silence.

* * *

"Lemon Drops." Hermione whispered to a Gargoyle Statue.  
I looked at her with a puzzled expression. How did she already know the password for Dumbledore's office?  
The Statue rotated in place, exposing a secret winding staircase that reached far above the roof of the corridor we stood in.  
Candice made a soft impressed sound, but said nothing.  
Hermione walked into the stairwell and began to climb the staircase but stopped to ask us;

"Are you coming?"

Candice immediately began to hurry up the staircase behind her and I slowly joined them, 6 or 7 steps behind.

We reached a small landing atop the staircase and were presented with a large door. Hermione knocked on it sharply 5 times and we waited in silence.  
I looked over at Candice who had offered to hold my broom in the event it betrayed any extra, unknown though thoroughly late acting dark magic.

She grasped it hard and let it bend in the middle where most of the wood had snapped in half. Her anger seemed to have momentarily dispersed due to the quietness of our entrance of the castle.

I glanced at Hermione who was waited patiently; Her anger still lingered, accompanied by her frown. She glanced at me before looking at my arm with worry. I remembered the pain as the splinters pierced my skin, and I thought about where I would be right now if she hadn't checked for hexes.  
It hit me then act was more than a possible prank.  
Someone had hexed my broom to shatter; to spend splinters out in every direction while I rode it.  
This was too harmful to be a prank. It was dangerous. Someone was out to hurt me.

I swallowed nervously, my skin prickled and I felt very light and uneasy, painfully aware of every sound, sensation and movement atop that stairwell landing. I glanced back over at the broom in Candice's hands and I realised that I was actually terrified. I pictured myself falling to the pitch; covered in tiny wooden daggers, soaked in my own blood. I flung my hand to my forehead, breathed out heavily and glanced up at Candice and then realised how I close I was to the wall, so I leant uneasily against it.  
My breathing felt short; inadequate. Each breath felt incomplete and it pained me.

Dumbledore's office door wrenched open and the HeadMaster stood in the doorway in a ruffled nightshirt. Fluffy slippers poked out underneath.

"Ahh," he said quietly, "Gryffindor students. What do I owe this early morning visit?"

"This." Candice said as she held out the remains of my Nimbus 1700.

"Hmm," Dumbledore grumbled as he took the splintered broom in his hands and held it up to inspect, "and what was this?"

"My broom." I said emotionlessly.

"Someone hexed it." Hermione filled in, "It exploded when I checked for sabotage."

Dumbledore looked at me over his half moon glasses. We stood for a moment in silence.

"Please, come in." He said nicely as he smiled at us and turned back into his office; leaving the door open for us for us to walk through.

As we followed him, Dumbledore motioned to three plush chairs in front of a messy desk.  
We sat down while he waved his hand, clearing his desk; curious looking items and gadgets levitated slowly and relocated themselves to shelves and on other tables around the room. Dumbledore gently laid the broom down on his desk and sat in his own chair.

He clasped his hands together in front of his mouth. His eyes twinkled as he waited for us to explain.

"Amanda is in danger." Hermione said bluntly but Dumbledore's soft expression did not change.

"She's been pushed down stairs by someone invisible and the fall broke her neck!" Candice continued, "and then her broom was hexed to explode during use! If it wasn't for Hermione…" She trailed off and she glanced at Hermione.

Candice's expression softened and her face began to glow red. Hermione did not meet her eyes; she merely stared at the Headmaster, searching his face for his impression.  
Instead, Dumbledore turned his attention to me but he did not speak; again, he waited for me to explain. I tried but I couldn't. I sat there are stared at him. Anxiety slowly gathered in my stomach, making it heavy and tense.

Professor Dumbledore inclined his head slightly, urging me to talk.

"I have detention With Professor Snape." I said suddenly, surprising myself. We were in the Head Master's office being stared at by him as we try to explain about the now very real threat upon my life, and all I could say I'm spending my nights scrubbing cauldrons?

Dumbledore, however, slowly nodded as If what I had said rang true to him.

"Then we can't have you roaming the corridors at night, can we?" Dumbledore said with an almost cheeky smile, "why don't you ask our friend Mr Harry Potter if you could borrow a certain article of clothing?"

I frowned. How did Dumbledore know about Harry's cloak? I supposed he would know; He was the headmaster after all. Harry probably had to get permission off Dumbledore to even get his cloak into the school. That's how those things worked, right?

"I...I guess…" I muttered, but it seemed pretty unfair. Really unfair. It was one thing to ask Harry to shadow me but it was another to just take his cloak. I didn't want to ask, but I doubted that Harry wanted to walk me back to the common room every night.

Dumbledore nodded once and looked back down at the broom.

"And perhaps using a different school broom every time you practice." he continued, "and...Always check for hexes."

I glanced over at Candice whose anger seemed to be put aside for a heavy dose of confusion.  
I looked down at the desk that held my once most prized possession.

"I will keep this for now," Professor Dumbledore said and he waved his hand. The broom levitated off the table and slowly floated out of the room through a door that opened as it approached and closed behind it.

Professor Dumbledore rose from his chair.  
Candice, Hermione and I stood, our invitation clearly over.  
He nodded at us and smiled, and he placed his hands behind his back.  
We filed out of the room. I looked back before I left the room. Dumbledore stood still as a statue, the same smile on his face I walked out and The office door shut behind me. Immediately Candice and Hermione started squabbling.

"He didn't even ask about her being pushed!" Candice said angrily, "It was like he doesn't even care! and what was that about an article of clothing?!"

"He probably knows more than he's letting on," Hermione murmured, trying to distract from Dumbledore's mysterious mention of Harry's cloak, "Professor Dumbledore knows a lot about the goings on in his school."

"Maybe he can tell us who pushed me." I muttered. Candice snapped her fingers.

"That's probably what's he's going to do!" she exclaimed, "He took your broom, he's probably going to test it somehow."

"How?" Hermione asked, pausing as we descended the stairwell.

"Well, Prior Incantato shows the last spell used on a wand. There's bound to be a spell that does a similar thing but for an object!"

"If that were true then all cursed items sent over owl would be traced back to their casters, wouldn't they?" Hermione replied causing Candice to frown.

They conversed about this with each other until we reached the bottom of the stairwell; the wall revolved again to let us out.

"What can we do now?" Candice sighed as we hit the tile floored corridor.

"Well, we could go to the library and figure out what hex was used and see if it's taught in class, maybe?" Hermione offered.

"Can we go back down to the pitch?" I asked quietly, not looking at either of them.

Hermione sighed.

"Well, it's not like you're life's going to be any less threatened if you go back." she said.

Candice looked at me and then at Hermione. She seemed conflicted.

"I'll um, I'll...go with you, Amanda." She said with uncertainty. Hermione nodded and we parted ways. Candice and I silently walked back to the Quidditch pitch.

As we reached it, I watched as my fellow Quidditch players performed their wind down manoeuvres. Had we really been gone that long?  
"What did he mean by an article of Clothing?" Candice asked suddenly.

"Oh, um, I don't know." I lied reflexively, "maybe Harry has an enchanted hat or something."

"Maybe Dumbledore's just potty." Candice sighed. I almost agreed.

I saw Harry standing in the middle of the pitch and we walked to meet him. He looked as though he had a pleasant practice; he did not seem as angry as he did when we had left.

"What did Dumbledore say?" He asked us.

"Not very much." I muttered. He looked confused.

"I told him that she was pushed and that her broom was hexed and he didn't say anything!" Candice replied, "and then, when Amanda mentioned her detention, Dumbledore said that you'd have a magic hat or something for her to use."

"A magic hat." Harry repeated flatly.

"'An Article of Clothing'" Candice specified, rubbing her eyes in frustration. Harry's face dropped for a moment but recomposed himself before Candice opened her eyes.

"It's just…" Candice sighed and looked at me sadly.

"Frustrating." I finished. Candice shook her head in disagreement.

"It's just...why?" she asked, "why you? You're not important."

"Thanks." I replied.

"No, you...you know what I mean though!" she repeated, "you're not important in the grand scheme of things! You're not Harry. Heck you're not even Hermione. Anyone could be envious of her." she said in a wistful tone. There was silence for a moment.  
"have you spoken to your parents lately?" she asked me.

"Really." I replied, my fatigue slowly being replaced by irritation, "You're really asking that."

"Yes!" she said loudly, "have you gotten an owl from them recently?"

"What do you think?" I hissed back. I wanted to walk away but I still had to ask Harry. I could see that he expected it; He was barely listening to our conversation. There was a conflict of interest playing out in his head and it had nothing to do with with my Parent's lack of communication.

"I'm serious." Candice said, regaining my attention, "what if something's happened?"

"Nothings happened." I said, "everything is normal."

"But you haven't got an owl, how do you know?"

"Just stop." I said, "just...I'll owl them, okay?"

Candice nodded and sighed, clearly upset that she had to argue with me on the topic. I shifted uncomfortably.

"Look, Why don't you go off and find Hermione." I told Candice dismissively, "go see what she's doing."

Candice looked slightly upset but nodded. She turned to leave.

"Don't go anywhere on your own, okay?" she said to me, "it's not safe. Not for now."

I gave her a pathetic look as agreement and she hurried off.

I turned back at Harry who had clearly made his decision.

"No." he said.

"I didn't figure."

"it was my fathers."

"It's ultimately your decision."

"It's one thing to help you out, but this?"

"I didn't suggest it."

We stood in silence for a few moments.

"I don't want to have to be awake every night at 1am to take you back." he said.

"You don't have to do that either. it's not your obligation to help me."

"Amanda..." He groaned as he rolled his eyes, "I'm your friend. I WANT to help you."

I was taken aback slightly. I didn't think that he'd want to go out of his way to help. I thought about how other people had helped me and It slowly churned in my brain that this was bad situation who affected more people than just me. Harry's things were stolen, Candice's study habits broken, the headmaster was involved now regardless of how much he had actually said, and now I've promised to write to my parents.

I shuddered.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked. The wind blew around our shoulders.

"Yeah." I replied, and rubbed my arm, the vision of the splinters escaping my skin scratched at my mind. Harry turned to face the pitch and watched his team as they demounted their brooms.

"Good Practice," Harry called to them, "We'll meet up in the Great Hall. Breakfast should be on by now." He turned back to me.

"Come on, lets something to eat." He said.

* * *

I spent most of the day in the Gryffindor common room attempting to complete my charms homework. The room was empty which was normal for Saturday mornings. Harry thought it would be best to stay there for the day and told me that he was going to go find Hermione. Candice had popped in around 1pm asking if I would like to go grab some lunch. She had to yell over the horrific bellowing of the canary she and I borrowed from Charms. I declined just as loudly, and eventually succeeded with the silencing charm.

As I reviewed my notes from the previous Potions lesson I remembered that we shared the class with Slytherin. I suddenly painfully ached to talk to Draco but I couldn't this weekend because if I were alone it could spell trouble. I thought of peeling off for a bit to find him, but what If someone returned to find an empty dorm room?

I looked down at the blank parchment in front of me and scribbled angry faces in frustration then scratched them out. To talk to Draco I needed the opportunity, I needed to be alone with him without causing suspicion, and I needed enough time to explain my my actions.

I wrote the three points down on the parchment and began listing ideas.  
When would Draco and I be in the same place at the same time?

_Meal Times_, I wrote.

I immediately realised that it wouldn't work. Everyone is seated at their own tables, though Breakfast and Lunch are informal they are both very busy; I couldn't easily sit at the Slytherin table without being noticed.

_Study Periods._

I thought about our study periods. The free students would break off into their groups and study amongst themselves. Unless I caught him as he took a book out of the shelf in the library, one of the many places to study, I doubted that we would be able chat.

_In Class._

But which? Most classes don't get us to share our lessons with another house.  
I scanned my brain for options.  
Potions, one of the few doubled classes, wasn't on again until Wednesday.  
Classes start again on Monday. What classes are on Monday?  
Charms, history of magic; Both single classes.  
Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, than Care of Magical Creatures...We doubled with Slytherin then. I wrote it down. If not then, then it would have to be Wednesday.

I sighed and looked down the list again.

Care of Magical Creatures had the opportunity but I needed to be able to be alone with him. Maybe If I tried to pair off with him on the class practical? There was almost a new one every week. It would look so suspicious. Maybe I should just try to grab a table with him in Potions? Ugh.  
I crossed the whole paragraph out. Ink splattered the parchment as I roughly dragged my quill across the page.  
It seemed so futile.

I heard the portrait swing open and I frantically began to rip my parchment to pieces.

"Sick of study?" Ron's voice asked as I gathered the pieces in a small pile.

"Oh, very." I lied.

"Hermione said you should probably come down to dinner, since you haven't eaten all day."

"What time is it?" I asked, surprised and looked out the window. It was already dark.

"About quarter past 4," he replied, looking at the grandfather clock, "come on quick, don't want to spend the whole dinner wandering down stairs."

I stood up and looked down at my things.

"Just leave 'em, we'll clean it up when we get back."

"But-" I said, staring down at the piled bits of parchment. I bit my lip.

"alright," I said, "but burn this pile of scrap. Useless first draft."

Ron laughed. "alright," he replied, "alright, just hurry."

We left for dinner.

* * *

I stood again in the cold dark corridor outside Professor Snape's office. I had whined about how chilly it was outside Snape's office during Dinner and Candice let me borrow her jacket. It was a bit large on me but very warm. It helped push away the anxious thoughts of the creepy corridor beyond the light.

I heard Professor Snape's footsteps as he entered the corridor with his usual flourish. As he approached I saw that he was holding another bundle of rolled parchment. He walked up to the door and opened it with a wave of his wand. I followed him in.  
He laid the entire stack of parchment he held on top of the same rickety table from last detention.  
I wondered if he kept it in the room or if he removed it since last night.

"Sit." He commanded once again.  
He seemed angrier than normal. Usually, he would be spitting insults or implying horrible things. Now, he just seemed quiet. Cold.

_Whatever_, I thought, _if he doesn't talk then I don't have to listen to his usual spiel._

I sat down on the rickety chair and watched him.

Snape walked past his desk to the shelves behind it that held a few large books. He took out a heavy looking leather bound book and shuffled over to where I sat before dropping it down on the desk which shuddered under the book's weight. He leant over the desk, his hands gripped the sides of the weak wooden table.

"Read the essays." He said coldly, "Check each against their entries in this book." He tapped the leather book, "and write out what they got wrong on this." he picked up one of the unsealed rolls, "Get through all of them by the end of detention."

"But-" I started to protest the large pile but a odd sort of anger flared in his eyes. I shut my mouth quickly. He waited a moment for me to try again and when I didn't he stood stiffly.

"If there are no objections..." he said and paused again, then returned to sit at his desk.

I gave him a disgruntled face at him behind his back.

I dragged the book closer. It was as heavy as it looked; I could barely lift it. I opened the leather cover and began to flip through the pages. The beginning of the book held old and yellowed pages but as the book went on, newer pages were slotted in between them. All the pages, even the yellow ones, had the same thick, small handwriting; It was the same handwriting as the one on the parchment I had received the previous detention.

This whole book was written by Professor Snape!

Suddenly, Snape cleared his throat and my head snapped up to look at him. He was staring at me angrily from his desk.

"Don't just sit there," he spat, "get on with it."

I closed the book with a bang and slid it away from me as I grabbed one of the parchments from the top of the pile. I unfurled it and read it slowly; it was difficult to decipher the messy writing. It was about the Forgetfulness Potion; something we studied in our first year. I read through it and jolted down the student's name and a few notes on to the blank parchment provided.

I opened the book, located the Forgetfulness potion and read through the details provided. I was a bit hazy on them myself. The information about the potion was clear yet incredibly detailed. I was impressed.  
I continued this way for a few hours and got through about 20 of the essays. They ranged from 1st to 6th years, and all the information was found easily in this heavy, leather book.

I pondered the effort it would have taken to create this encyclopaedia of potions knowledge. It was so thorough but was written in simple english. The potions not only had the correct ingredients and methods but extra tips and hints. It also included a blurb about the potion, it's effects, the original creator AND what the Potions Association had decided for it; whether or not it was legal for trade, if there were any standards related to it, etc.  
This heavy book could practically be an 7th year textbook, or maybe even a "catch-all" recipe book for Master Potioneers. it covered so much!  
It had everything from the Standard Potioning Water to Felix Felicis and beyond!

I looked up at my still angry and very greasy potions teacher. Could he really put so much effort into something like this?  
He sat hunched over a few more rolls of parchment, leaning his fist against his forehead; a triangle window created by it. I looked at his hooked nose and furrowed brow.  
He was obviously very pissed off by having to mark students work. Why did he become a potions teacher in the first place? Was it so he had money and time to cook up potions?

"What is it, Miss Marlin." Snape hissed through gritted teeth. I was surprised.

"Um, nothing, Sir." I replied, and looked back down at the book. I bit my lip.

"How long have you been working on this book?" I asked him. He looked up at me in anger but I was too curious to be bothered by it.

"What?" He asked, and then looked down at the book in my hands, "how do you…?"

"It's your handwriting," I said slowly, "how long have you been working on it?"

there was silence. I think I stunned him. He cleared his throat.

"Decades…" He replied, "It's…been decades."

"It's…" I began, dragging my fingers down the page and uncovering the diagram of Polyjuice Potion carefully drawn in ink, "it's really good."

There was silence. I didn't want to look up.

"…get back to work."

That was closest thing to a thank you I think I would ever receive from Professor Snape.  
I worked for the rest of my sentence, not speaking another word.

* * *

I walked out of Snape's Office, gripping my cramping hand tightly. I had found so much wrong in the last few essays that I knew it was impossible for the writers to get a passing grade. I didn't recognise their names but I sympathised for them. The door slammed closed behind me and I heard the stomping shuffle of Snape's steps as he walked away. He muttered something unintelligible and I couldn't make it out through the door.  
I pulled Candice's jacket tighter around my shoulders. It was colder now since it was past midnight.

"Cold, ay?" Harry's voice greeted me.

"Not again, Harry." I groaned, "You can't stay up every night waiting for me."

"I don't plan to," he replied, "but I couldn't just leave my cloak on the ground. You'd walk straight past it."

"Seriously?" I replied, "Are you sure? You don't have to. I can get by without it, I swear."

"it's almost as if you don't want the bloody thing." He chuckled, "Come on, let's go."

We walked out of the dungeons in silence and returned to the Common room without incident. I cringed as I remembered our encounter with Draco the previous night.  
I wandered towards the fireplace and stood there, warming my hands. Beside me, Harry appeared as he pulled the cloak off.

"You've got to promise me," he said, "promise me that when you have it, you will never take it out of your bag when you're not using it."

"I promise," I replied,

"You'll never show Candice or anyone else."

"I promise I will never show or tell or mention or mimic or charade that I have it to anyone or anything or concept." I explained with tense expression.

Harry smiled but attempted to smother it. I could tell that he wanted my agreement to be sincere.

"I promise." I said, "That I will never tell another soul about your cloak."

He smiled genuinely and he handed me his invisibility cloak. As I took it from him my hands disappeared, but I could still feel myself holding the cloak; it felt very airy and light, like silk if it had no weight.

"This is amazing." I said to Harry; I looked up at him in wonder.

"Thank you, Harry," I murmured, "This could very well save my life."

"I know." He replied.

We smiled at each other. It was so comforting, but I looked away.

"Thank you." I said again, and suddenly I felt this amazing, overbearing need.

So I rushed him, and threw my arms around him and squeezed him tightly, clutching the cloak behind his back.

"Merlin, Harry, Thank you." I said to him; my head resting under his chin, "you do not understand how much I appreciate this."

"I think I might be catching on," he laughed. I let go of him and laughed as well.

"I want to scare Hermione right now." I said seriously, "can I do that."

"Probably not a good idea to do that this late." He replied, pretending to disagree with the idea.

"Tomorrow then, while she studies." I said. He shook his head.

"She'll hex you." He laughed, "but go for it. I can't wait to see for her reaction."


	6. Chapter 6 - Frantic

Chapter 6 arrives!  
I hope you all enjoy it! Jess found some neat references on how to properly describe a scene, so I hope I applied the advice properly!  
Feel free to leave a review! but please, if you are going to point out something about it you don't like, please be specific! That way, I can try to use that advice to improve my writing :)  
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

* * *

The soft sounds of paws padding along the dirt ground slowly drew my attention. I spun around to face the newly worrying sound but they stopped as quickly as they started.__

Grruuuuu…  
  
A low growl sounded from behind me and I snapped back around to face the consuming darkness of the forest. I patted down my short's pockets.  
_Where was my wand?_  
My mind replayed tripping over the tree root; my stinging flesh a distraction to the now obvious loss of my wand.  
_It must have fallen out then,_ I realised.  
My chest tightened, knowing that I was defenceless against whatever creature now stalked me.  
_  
Grruuuuuuuggg_

I threw my hands up in front of me, barely able to see the glow of my skin in the inky darkness.  
I took a tender step forward, heart pounding, and hoped that I could find something to help get out of here.  
_  
Grruuuuuu__**URTCH! OUW! OUW!**_

The sound of the pain from the thing propelled me forward; sprinting away from where I had stood.

_That was right behind me! and something else is attacking it!  
_  
My feet pounded against the ground as I ran, my arms out in front of me, hoping that my sense of touch would warn me of any incoming dangers before I slammed straight into them.  
The pained cries of whatever it was that had hunted me were the most horrific I had ever heard.  
Sharp, piercing howls of pain that ended in gurgled groans caused me to smother my own cry of fear as I felt tears burn my eyes.  
I ran and ran, tears begging to fall from my eyes. The cries of the animal lessened as my distance from the creature grew.  
I slowed and attempted to catch my breath. My muscles throbbed painfully and my every breath was a jagged knife to my chest.

Eventually, I stopped running. Thinking I was safe I slowed and began to paw at my aching back.  
I wished that It would stop hurting. I chastised myself for my earlier actions.

Two boney hands snatched at my ankles and pulled me away; causing me to fall flat on my face. I spat out a mouthful of dead leaves and fought for breath as I was dragged across the ground. I clawed at the earth, attempting to grab hold of something, anything, but I found nothing.  
I screamed and cried out for help.

"Amanda!" A voice yelled over my screams, "Amanda are you okay? Amanda!"

The room was suddenly painfully bright and I fell a short way on to the floor.

"Amanda!" Hermione said, grabbing my flailing hands.

"Hermione!" I sobbed, "Help me!"

She let go of my wrists and pulled me in tight against her and I sobbed in to her mess of hair.

"Are you alright, Amanda?" She asked, attempting a soothing voice. I didn't answer. I could still feel the cold, boney grip of whatever it was that clawed at my ankles.

"It's okay," Hermione spoke softly, "You're safe."

We sat in silence for a few moments and I eventually stopped hyperventilating.

"Did you have another nightmare?" she asked and I nodded in reply. She stood slowly, helped me back on to my bed and poured out a glass of water for me. I sipped at it gingerly. Flashes of the realer than real nightmare pounding against my consciousness like a hailstorm.  
I had to get my mind off the nightmare so I forced myself to think of the previous night; how Harry had changed his mind over the course of the day to let me use his cloak and I wondered if Hermione had a hand in his decision.

"Hermione," I croaked, my throat scratchy and sore from crying.

"Yes?"

"Harry gave me his invisibility cloak last night." I replied, "did you…?"

She shook her head.

"He came to visit Candice and I in the Library and told us that he left you in the Common Room but he left pretty quickly. I didn't get to talk to him at all until Dinner."

"oh.." I murmured. I took another sip of water and cleared my aching throat; It felt grated and raw.

"Do you want to go get some breakfast?" Hermione asked and I nodded.

"Get dressed, okay? I'll be downstairs." she said as she walked to the door, "take your time, Amanda. There's no rush."

The door closed and I heard her footsteps drain away. I ran my fingers through my hair and stomach felt tense as I looked around the room. It was empty and I felt a tinge of gratefulness that once again only few bore witness to my nightmare.  
I doubted that I would actually eat at breakfast.

* * *

Hermione and I walked through the giant doors of the Great Hall, which was full to bursting with students. The air hummed with chatter and the clatter of cutlery and cups.  
We sat opposite Candice, who was nursing a plate of bacon and eggs as she read over her Charms notes. Hermione refilled Candice's glass of water and poured out two new ones for us before dishing up her own breakfast. I studied the food on display; nothing looked appetizing so I ignored it for the time being.

"Where's Harry and Ron?" I asked Candice, who looked up from her notes with a startled expression.

"Well, they WERE here." She said quietly while looked around the table, "I guess...they left."

"Doesn't matter." I replied, "They'll show up eventually."

Candice set her notes down and started picking at her breakfast.

"What's the plan for today?" She asked us as she pierced an egg with her fork.

"I'm spending the morning at the Library to revise Herbology" she replied, "You two are welcome to join."

"Yeah, sure, why not." I agreed unenthusiastically. I picked up a piece of buttered toast from the towering pile that sat haphazardly on a decorated platter. I went to take a mouthful, but the thick layer of melted butter was almost sickening. I set it down on my plate and looked at it with remorse.  
Candice cleared her throat and I looked up. She was staring at me over the top of her glasses.

"What, Candice?" I asked her suspiciously.

"Have you owled-"

"Not yet," I cut her off, "I'll do it today, okay?"

"Owled who?" Hermione asked; I had momentarily forgotten she was here.

"My Parents." I answered stiffly, "Candice wants me to send them a letter."

"See if everything's okay." Candice explained. Hermione nodded.

"Good Idea." she said, and looked at me to gauge my reaction, "Isn't it?"

I sighed, then I noticed Hermione's hair was still wet from my tears. I cringed and I felt slightly obligated to tell her, but realised that I actually wanted her to know as well.

"My parents are…" I began slowly but wasn't sure how to proceed.

My parents. What could I say about my parents? I loved them. I knew that. Did they love me?  
I thought of the birthdays they missed, even though the presents were always piled at the foot of my bed when I woke. All the Christmases I had spent with my Aunt, and how they always managed to send me an owl with letters full of "_We wish we could_"s and "_We're Sorry We're Missing_"s.

"My parents are very busy." I said, "I'm...not very close to them."

"That's a shame," Hermione replied and thankfully left it that.

Candice gave me an apologetic look for bringing it up but I knew that she was just worried for me and wanted the same answers I did.  
I felt hesitant to write to them because I knew I would get a reply and it would be full of apologises.  
_We're sorry we haven't written...we'll try more in the future...  
_  
I shook my head and felt determined to get my parents out of my head. I thought of tomorrow.

Monday. Classes. Work. Eventual boredom.

Draco.

My head snapped up and I turned around in my seat to examine the Slytherin table behind us.  
I searched the students who sat there for the platinum blonde head of Draco Malfoy.  
I saw his two huge friends Crabbe and Goyle but Draco himself was absent.

"What's up?" Hermione asked. I swivelled back around.

"Thought I heard my name," I lied.

"At the Slytherin table?" She asked, I shook my head.

"Who knows." I replied.

Hermione dusted the bread crumbs off her hands.

"Right," she said, "I'll go grab our things. You two can just head to the Library from here, okay?"

Candice nodded and ate more of her breakfast.

"Alright," I replied, and stared down at the lonely piece of toast on my plate.

* * *

We sat in the Library; the winter sun shone through the windows, showcasing the dust motes that floated through slanted beams of sunlight. Hermione, Candice and I sat at large table, reviewing our Herbology notes in silence. Well, they did. I already finished rereading what few notes I took in Herbology so I sat slumped, resting my face against the palm of my hand and watching the dust dance through the beams.

"Snargaluff's pods are best when fresh…" I heard Candice mumble under her breath.

I studied her; She sat back in her chair, holding the parchment out in front of her with her left hand and rubbing her right temple with the fingers of the other. She mouthed words as she read.  
Hermione put her roll of notes down and stretched, catching Candice's attention. She glanced over but quickly returned to her notes, lips pursed tight as she started again with renewed focus.

"Oh, Amanda," Hermione started as she leant under the table to fish something out of her bag, " I forgot to tell you, Candice and I figured out what hex was used on your broom yesterday."

"Really?"

"Yeah, we were going to tell you last night at dinner, but you started talking about detention and…"

"You didn't stop." Candice finished. Hermione gave her a slightly humored look.

"What is it then?" I asked Hermione, ignoring Candice.

"Bombarda Retrasar, " Hermione explained, "Also Known as the 'Delayed Explosion.' "

She pulled out a small square of parchment and read its contents.

"Bombarda Restrasar. Hex; Used on objects. After applying, the next person to touch the hexed object will activate hex, which will cause object to explode at random. Not effective, as it goes off after a unforeseen amount of time. There is no way to find out how long it will take to explode. If used for harm, a person could touch the hexed object, leave, and much later the object could explode, injuring other, unintended victims."

"Well that's dumb." I stated, "It mightn't of gone off during practice at all and then have blown up the broom shed a week later."

"There have been cases where they've never gone off at all," Hermione said, "or, really, they just haven't gone off yet."

"Random, ay." I muttered and looked over at Candice, she was in the same position as earlier, notes in one hand, rubbing her forehead with the other but her eyes shut tight.

"Done, Candice?" I asked.

She threw the parchment down and rubbed her eyes; her fingertips underneath her glasses.

"Might as well be." she said, "I've read the last paragraph 3 times in a row."

"That's some intense revision." I joked and Candice chuckled.

* * *

Staring down at the bowl of chicken and sausage meat stew I had served myself, I debated silently whether or not it was a good idea to have done so. Candice had praised its taste but I didn't feel hungry enough to attempt it.  
I felt someone sit heavily on the seat next to mine so I looked up and saw Harry and Ron looking pleased as punch as they picked out their lunch.

"Where have you been?" Hermione asked them.

"Looking around," Ron said, his mouth already full of mashed potatoes.

"We went back to the Broomshed to look around for evidence." Harry translated as he finished scooping the last of the Shepards Pie on to his plate.

"Evidence?" Candice repeated, "Like, left behind shoe buckles?"

"That's awfully specific, but yeah, along those lines." He replied.

"Did you find anything?" I asked him. Would my potential harasser be sloppy enough to leave behind clues?

"We did find something," He said, "That lock is magic and can only be opened those keys the Head Teachers give the Captains of the Quidditch Teams."

"So, no ones gone into the Shed?" I asked sceptically, "My broom couldn't have hexed itself."

"I didn't say that," Harry said, "Just that someone who didn't belong to a Quidditch team couldn't get in; meaning that someone who apart of a Quidditch  
team had to have entered the broom shed and messed with the brooms."

" 'The brooms'? " Candice asked, "more than one's been hexed?"

"We checked out all the other brooms; most of Hufflepuff and some of Ravenclaw had the same hex on them." He explained, "We had to go find their Quidditch Captains and tell them about it."

"So many stairs." Ron exclaimed as he scooped another spoonful of mash, "I'm so tired."

"Amanda isn't targeted?" Candice asked, looking relieved.

"Not directly," Harry clarified, "but its weird how we only had one broom of ours hexed while Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw had so many. Gryffindor has been the only team in recent memory to defeat Slytherin but none of our brooms apart from Amanda's was hexed!"

"Were any of Slytherin's brooms hexed?" I asked suddenly, worried for Draco.

"No…" Harry said slowly, giving me a queer look.

"They were the only ones whose brooms weren't hexed," Ron explained, "So it has to be them."

Harry spoke about having to locate the Captains and how both had taken the pair to their house's head teachers. Ron mentioned how Zacharias Smith wasn't surprised by the development, claiming that the Hufflepuff players were being harassed by Slytherin between classes to the point of having Teachers involved.

I stared down at my stew again, utterly repulsed by the sight of it. I pushed it away from me and stared down at my lap as Ron made up grandiose plans for catching the Slytherins red handed.

"We'd have to know what they're going to do to catch them at it, Ron." Hermione corrected.

"It'll be easy to figure it out, we just have to mentally sink down to their level." He replied and drank deeply from his goblet of pumpkin juice.

"I'm going back to the common room," I announced as I grabbed my bag from under the table and stood up out of my seat.

"Wait," Candice said, "don't go alone,"

"You heard Harry," I replied, my temper beginning to flare, "This is an inter-house issue. I've probably been fine this whole time and scared for no reason."

"If it's an inter-house issue then you're just in as much danger as before!" Candice counted, "With potentially more people after you!"

"They're one house covering three others," I hissed, "they're not going to after a Gryffindor beater when messing with the House Captains would cause more damage."

I turned away and walked off before Candice had a chance to respond. I didn't turn around once as I stormed out. I stomped up the stairs in the Grand Staircase and fumed silently, a scowl carved onto my face. I felt so stupid and so selfish. How could I believe that it was only happening to me? How could I be so self-concerned?

"Periculum." I snapped at the Portrait of the Fat Lady, who muttered angrily at me as she swung open.

I climbed into the common room and and hurried up to the girls dormitory, slamming the door behind me as I dropped down on to my bed, tears threatening to escape my eyes.

"Ugh," I groaned. I was glad that I wasn't directly targeted but felt terrible about not realising that others were in danger. I felt selfish for thinking it was all about me. Stupid, even.

I laid on the bed and blinked away the angry tears, forcing myself to clear my mind multiple times as the guilt and anger repeatedly floated back in to my thoughts. Eventually, I closed my eyes and tried to relax but I fell asleep instead.

* * *

"Amanda, wake up!" A voice said as hands shook me.

"What?" I groaned, "what's going on?"

"It's nearly 5pm!" Candice said, "you'll miss detention and get in to more trouble!"

"Ughh…" I rubbed my eyes, "detention..."

I stood up, wobbled, and fell back down on to the bed.  
Candice pressed a cup of water into my hand and I took a deep drink from it.

"Thanks…" I said slowly as I grabbed my bag from beside my bed and handed her back the glass.

I fished around inside my tote bag and felt the cool, silken texture of the cloak.  
It took a moment to register that it was there.

"It's too late for you to get dinner from the hall," Candice said, "so I grabbed this for you."

She handed me a lukewarm sausage roll and I ate it quickly as she ushered me out of the dorm and down the stairs.

"Thanks Candice," I said to her again as I was about to climb out the portrait hole.

"It's okay, just hurry." She replied.

As I arrived at Snapes door I could hear his shoes echoing through the dungeon corridor as he approached. I almost missed the start of detention. I leant against the wall and pretended to have been here a while.

"You're not here to relax, Miss Marlin." Professor Snape snapped as he came in to view. I frowned at him but he didn't react.

"Follow me." He said as he walked past his office door and further down the corridor.

I followed him a short way to another door. He waved his wand and it opened, revealing our usual Potions Classroom...expect It was absolutely filthy. The whole room covered in the thick mess of red congealed potion, obviously spilled from the multitude of small, pewter cauldrons sewn all over the floor.

"There was a mishap in the first year class today." Professor Snape said, "and you're cleaning it up."

I gaped at the classroom as I entered. Professor Snape motioned to the corner.

"There is the cleaning equipment," he said, "I'll be back in 8 hours."

The door closed and I rolled up my sleeves, still in disbelief at the scene, and I set myself to work.

* * *

My knees dug painfully into the dungeon floor as I put all my weight against the scrubbing brush as I pressed it into the ground with a fierce determination. The thick mess of the potion came away in globs of red, tingeing the brush's bristles pink.

"What kind of 'mishap' was this?!" I said aloud in defeat for the millionth time, too exhausted to be angry.

I rinsed the brush off in the bucket of soapy water, also tinted red, and bought the brush back to the ground and started again. I was sure that the stone floor of the classroom would be forever stained a pale pink.  
The door swung open and the tall form of Professor Snape sauntered in, looking over my work with distaste.

"You missed a spot, Miss Marlin." He said, clucking his tongue as he viewed the room.

After 8 hours of furious labour, I had only managed to clean a portion of the room. 4 of the 10 desks had been scraped clean while the others stood with the thick layer of scarlet sealing the wood off from the overbearing apple detergent scented air of the room.  
I sat back, my face was hot and slick with sweat.

"Is it time to go, Sir?" I moaned, feeling as though I had run a marathon.

He looked at me with a mixture of disgust and pity as he nodded.

"Get your things and go," he said, "I'll do the rest."

I stood slowly, my knees cracked as I stretched my legs.

"Uggh" I groaned. I felt as if I had aged a million years.

I grabbed my bag and waddled out of the room. Professor Snape slammed the door shut behind me.  
My hands, also stained an ugly pink, felt gross and slimy. I could feel small wisps of grime being rolled as I rubbed my palms together. I sighed deeply and rooted around in my bag for Harry's cloak, recognising it by its airy, silky texture. I pulled it from my bag and draped it over me. My vision became slightly clouded by the cloak's fabric, giving everything an opaque colouring. I left the dungeons and started a tired journey to Gryffindor Tower.

When I reached the 3rd floor I had to wait for the staircase to move into position so I stood quietly and huddled under the invisibility cloak. I heard the clacking of shoes from behind me and turned sharply, wondering who it could be.  
The short figure of Professor Flitwick appeared at the top of the previous staircase and walked over to where I stood. As waited next to me, he hummed a tune quietly to himself. He sniffed the air one and gave a small smile.  
_"_Apples." I heard him chirp quietly and realised that he smelt the detergent I had used. I had practically bathed in the stuff.  
Suddenly, the staircase moved and slotted in to place. Professor Flitwick made a small, happy noise and became to ascend the stairs.

_What was Professor Flitwick doing out at 1am?_ I thought to myself as I watched him climb the stairs; his progress inhibited slightly by his height.

I waited until he was halfway up before beginning the venture myself. When I was halfway up, he reached the landing and walked off. A second later, I heard the 4th Floor Corridor Door open and click close.

_He's probably off to bed now,_ I thought, _Probably had a meeting... or a midnight snack?  
_  
I was almost at the top when I heard a muffled thunk and the 4th floor corridor swung door open again. I looked up over the remaining stairs and saw a flash of colour through the cloudy barrier of the cloak as someone sprinted past the landing of the 4th floor staircase.  
Whoever it was hurried up the stairs to the fifth and sixth floor; the sound of their footsteps disappeared as they ascended the seventh. I stood on the stairs, paralysed. Had Professor Flitwick seen them? I felt my stomach tense; Something was wrong.

All of that had happened in less than five seconds, no way the Professor hadn't seen them leave.  
Slowly, I made my way to the door and looked through the open door to the 4th Floor Corridor.  
A mere 4 feet past the threshold lay Professor Flitwick, sprawled out on the floor.

"Oh Merlin," I gasped. I stepped forward to help but remembered that I wore the cloak.

I pulled it off and shoved it into my bag as I approached my charms professor.

"Professor Flitwick?" I tried to stir him, "Sir?"  
No response. A dark shadow covered half of his face. I leaned in closer to him. Part of the shadow reflected the moonlight and he smelt strongly of copper. I took a hard, sharp breath. He was bleeding! I didn't know any medical spells; this situation required a prefect or another teacher.  
I rushed back to the door and spluttered for a second as I tried to think of something to say.

"H-Help!" I yelled out as loud as I could, "Professor Flitwick's been hurt!"

A moment passed and then the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from a staircase below.  
Sure that someone was coming, I turned around and went back to the Professor.  
I pored over the wound on his forehead. It looked deep and was bleeding steadily.

"What did you do?!" came the accusing voice of Draco Malfoy. I snapped my head around and saw him at the doorway, his wand out and pointed directly at me.

"No-nothing!" I cried, "I was coming back from detention and found him this way!"  
Draco hurried over and examined the unconscious teacher. He pulled open one of the Professor's eyes; the pupil was constricted.

"Lumos." He said and his wand's tip produced a green light that filled the corridor. The Professor's pupil shifted as it dilated in response to the light.

"He's knocked out but alive." Draco announced quietly, "We need to get him to the Infirmary."

Draco wordlessly performed a levitating charm and slowly walked out of the room behind the floating form of the unconscious Professor Flitwick. I followed him and we began to descend the staircases.

"Go back to your Dormitory." Draco commanded. I shot him an angry look.

"No. I found Professor Flitwick, I want to make sure he's okay."

"He'll be fine." Draco grumbled.

"He was ATTACKED."

"How do you know that?" Draco raised his voice, "you said you found him this way!"

"I was walking back and saw the door smash open and someone run away." I explained.

"You're telling me this NOW?" Draco yelled at me, his face slowly turning red.

"I haven't had the time to tell you!" I yelled back, "and whoever it was is long gone by now!"

He paused for a second.

"Where did they go?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Up. Towards the 7th floor." I replied, watching the body of Professor Flitwick float down the stairs.

"Stay with me, then." He said, "If what you're saying is true then it's dangerous to wander off."

We hurried down the stairs in a tense silence, Professor Flitwick floating a few feet in front of us the entire time. Draco was red in the face with anger. He was itching to give me a hard time but kept his mouth shut.  
When finally arrived at the the Hospital Wing I ran off to find Madam Pomfrey.

"Madam Pomfrey!" I called out, opening the door to her office, hoping she'd be inside.

"Miss Marlin?" Madam Pomfrey replied, "What's wrong?"  
She had walked out of another room in her bedclothes.

"Professor Flitwick's been attacked!" I replied, "He's been hit on the head."

"Attacked?" she repeated in shock and I took her to Draco who had levitated the Professor to an infirmary bed. Madam Pomfrey examined the Professor, coming to the same conclusion Draco had.  
She pulled out her wand and wordlessly healed his head wound.

"Is- Is that it?" I asked her, "Is he okay?"

"Yes, the wound has healed. He'll wake in his own time." Madam Pomfrey said, "just like you on Friday."

My hand reflexively flew to my neck and I rubbed at the skin. If I was okay after all that then perhaps after a crack to the head, Professor Flitwick would be okay too.

"The Headmaster needs to be informed." Madam Pomfrey said and turned to Draco, "Prefect, would you go and collect Professor Dumbledore?"

Draco nodded. He glanced at me briefly and then walked briskly away.

"What I can do?" I asked Madam Pomfrey, "I want to help."

"You need to go back to the Gryffindor tower." She replied.

"But I saw who did it!" I cried, "I mean, I saw a person...but, I didn't see.."

"Who it was?" She finished my sentence and paused a moment for thought.

"Very well. You can stay here. When Professor Dumbledore arrives, you can tell him about what you saw."

Madam Pomfrey turned and hurried off to her office.

I looked back to Professor Flitwick. He seemed healthier, though the blood was still caked to his forehead but the wound appeared to have been completely healed.  
I sat down on the chair next to his temporary bed and felt racked with guilt.  
Maybe, if I didn't have the cloak on, everything would be been okay?

_How would that have worked? I thought_, _He was attacked in the corridor. The only thing that prevented you from joining him on the floor was the cloak!  
_  
I looked down at my bag, now sitting near my feet on the floor; inside sat Harry's cloak.

_Thank you, Harry...This could very well save my life._


	7. Chapter 7: Grim

Sorry for the short length, Jess and I have been really busy lately.  
Thank you for reading, please leave constructive critique!  
-

The silence of the Infirmary was broken by the creaking of the double doors that marked the far wall as the entrance.  
I jumped out of the seat next to Professor Flitwick's cot, nearly tangling my ankles in the straps of my bag and rushed towards the divider to peer beyond and watch the silhouettes of Professor Dumbledore and Draco Malfoy enter.  
Madam Pomfrey, now fully dressed, walked out from her office and and met them halfway; she spoke to the Headmaster in a soft tone about Professor Flitwick's condition. A few of her words floated by;

_Head wound...stable...unconscious...cured._

"Yes, yes..." Professor Dumbledore murmured as he nodded.

They paused at the feet of Professor Flitwick's sleeping form and Dumbledore shook his head slowly. They turned away and walked towards Madam Pomfrey's Office. I glanced at Draco, who snapped his head around to face me. Upon seeing my stare, his expression morphed from a dulled fatigue to anger.

"Still here?" He asked bitterly.

"I'm staying to tell the Headmaster what I saw." I replied softly. He didn't respond.

"About friday-" I began but he cut me off.

"I don't care, Marlin," he hissed, "I thought I could talk to you but I was wrong."

"Someone was there, Draco." I spoke harshly, "Someone was hiding."

"Hiding?" He repeated, "You were alone. At 1 in the morning, In the middle of the staircase, waiting for the next one to arrive."

"Someone was there, okay?" I said, becoming frustrated, "I was just trying to look out for you!"

"By being a bitch?!" He spat.

The word struck me like a punch to the gut but instead of the gnawing sadness I had felt all weekend at his disapproval, his words boiled my blood.

"A bitch?" I repeated, my jaw set, "I was a bitch, because I was pretending our relationship had never changed?"

His angry stare did not waver. I advanced.

"I'm a bitch because I did what WE AGREED TO DO? To PROTECT YOU?"

He didn't flinch. My heart thudded harder and I clenched my hands into fists.

"I could have just let you talk, Draco Malfoy, let you be friendly and chatty around me, 'sullying' your reputation, 'ruining' all that you're known for but instead, I put our flimsy friendship on the line to prevent them from knowing how YOU actually are."

"How I actually am? Listen to yourself Marlin." He said, almost disgusted.

"You are, by far, the most anxious, angry and disturbed person I have ever met." I told him flatly, hoping the declaration would hurt him.

"That honour belongs to you." He retorted, "Malicious Marlin. Broke a girls arm because she called her a name."

I felt my face flush and a new rush of rage swelled in my chest.

"That was years ago," I spluttered, "and-and she FORGAVE me! That's one less then you have, Draco Malfoy...and, for something less nasty!"

Draco didn't respond; he merely stared me down.  
My anger swirled in my chest, tightening my shoulders and hitching my breath. It was slowly turning into an embarrassed anger; something I felt so often after the initial outburst. I felt a fool and the knowledge of it just upset me more. I sighed and shut my eyes tight, covering them with my hands. I tried to take a deep, calming breath but it felt shaky and unsatisfying.

I gathered my thoughts as the pregnant silence between us bloated to an uncomfortable size.  
Slowly, my emotions evened out and I reached again that numbed plateau where most things felt dull, uninteresting but so much better than the throb of anger.

I glanced up at Draco, who was still staring and I wondered if he had watched me the whole time.

"Look, I don't expect you to forgive me right now, but just remember that I only acted that way because someone was nearby. I only did what I said I'd do; never let on that you'd talked to me." I said, almost uninterested in what I had to say. The conversation was over and done; neither of our input mattered any more.

I felt a slow realisation trickle through my mind that this was probably the last time we would ever speak. I watched him as he looked away, staring down the corridor where the Headmaster and Madam Pomfrey had disappeared. I heard a shuffle of feet on the reflective tile floor of the Infirmary and realised that the Headmaster was returning.

He walked up to Draco and took him aside, talking softly to him. Quickly, Draco nodded and walked out of the infirmary, not looking back though I watched closely as he disappeared out the doorway.

"Now then, Miss Marlin." The Professor announced in a soft tone as he turned towards me, "Madam Pomfrey has told me that you witnessed what happened to our Charming Professor."

The Headmaster gave Professor Flitwick a somber look.

"I...I was walking back from my detention with Professor Snape," I started, not looking away from the door, "and I saw Professor Flitwick climbing the 4th Floor stairs."

"You saw?" The Professor said, a hint of a smile.

"Well…" I looked at the Headmaster's face, "I was next to him...under...a certain article of Harry's clothing…" I paused, gauging his reaction. He nodded for me to continue.

"and I don't know...I didn't want to be caught walking up the stairs next to him, so I waited till he was halfway up to start myself...and then when he entered the 4th floor corridor, I heard a thunk and the door swung open again and someone sprinted away...but I couldn't see who it was under...the...'clothing article'. It's hard to see through…" I trailed off but The Headmaster nodded understandingly.

"Where did the 'someone' go?" He asked

"They ran up to the 7th floor at least, I couldn't hear their footsteps after that." I answered slowly.

"The 7th floor?" he repeated and I nodded.

He didn't say anything for moment; he seemed thoughtful.

"Perhaps," he said, "it is time to go back to your dorm."

I thought briefly about tomorrow and cast the thought aside.

"There's something dangerous happening at the school." I spoke without thinking.

He nodded slowly, as if admitting a great sin;  
"I know Miss Marlin." he spoke in a grave tone I had never heard from him before, "I know."

Covered by Harry's cloak and clutching my wand tightly, I arrived at the Gryffindor tower in half the time it usually took. I crawled through the portrait hole and was struck by the vision of Harry, who stood at the Fireplace almost broodingly, staring deeply into the flames.

"Harry," I greeted him, a dull pang of relief fluttered through my stomach as I pulled off his Cloak and shoved it into the bottom of my bag, "Something terrible has happened."

"What is it?" he asked, not turning around.

"Professor Flitwick was assaulted," I said as I approached him, "he was knocked out by someone."

"Is that why you're late?" he asked me, turning to face me, "I waited up to see you come in but it's nearly 2 now."

"2am?" I repeated and then looked at the clock for confirmation, "Harry, it's nearly 3."

He looked puzzled and glanced at the Grandfather clock in the corner of the room then shrugged hesitantly, as if struggling with the concept.

"Feels earlier." he replied, "maybe I nodded off…" he spoke slowly, unsure.

He cleared his throat.

"What happened to the Professor?"

"I think someone was inside the 4th floor corridor and when the Professor went in there, whoever it was attacked him and ran off." I explained the third time tonight, "I couldn't see who it was, though they ran up to at least the 7th floor."

Harry was quiet.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, worried

"I, um, I don't know…" he replied and held his head in his hand, "I think I just need to go to bed."

"You've been up late a lot," I told him, attempting to comfort him, "you're probably just really tired."

"Probably." he repeated and nodded at his own internal decision to sleep.

"Night then, Amanda." he said and I gave him a tight lipped smile as I watched him walk up the stairs to the Male dormitory. I sat down on one of the plush couches in front of the fire.

3 am, with classes in less than 6 hours. I felt so fatigued but I knew I would not be able to sleep.  
I pawed through my bag looking for something to do. I pulled out a blank roll of parchment and remembered my promise to Candice, causing my stomach to flop nervously.

A letter to my parents?

What would I even say?

_Hey mum and dad, my professor was attacked, and so was I actually - twice - and I cost Gryffindor at least 130 points this last week. Write back soon, your loving daughter.  
_  
I rolled my eyes and sat for a moment, staring at the blank parchment. It's lack of content mocked me as if it knew that sooner or later I would have to put a pen to it.  
_I might as well write the letter, _I thought bitterly, _get it over with.  
_  
Regretfully, I fished out the heavy, hard covered Herbology textbook from my bag and laid it on my lap to use a writing surface.  
I retrieved my ink and quill and uncapped the ink, wet the quill, unravelled the parchment and sat there, wondering what to write.

_Dear Mother and Father._

I paused, and then scratched it out immediately.  
I decided then that this page would be the draft.

I stared down at the parchment and lazily doodled swirls in the corners.

_Dear Mum and Dad,_ I wrote again.

_Sorry I haven't written in a while, I've had to study a lot.  
_  
The first lie.

_How are things? How's Millie doing? does she miss me? Shabby old thing. I hope she's better.  
_  
_I miss her a bit. She'd always lie at the end of my bed in winter and keep my toes warm.  
_  
_Anything happening there? Is everyone alright?  
_  
Good, I thought, Keep it light. Talk about our cat. Mention the weather.  
Ask if anyone's attempted to murder them. Good call.

I scratched out the last two questions. I felt as though it was going to take all night.

_Hows the business? I wrote instead, Still going strong?  
_  
I paused and remembered the Christmas Holidays in a months time.

_Can I come home for Christmas?_ I wrote slowly, knowing even now that their answer would be no.  
_"No. Sorry. We're very busy. We'll write!"  
_I frowned.

_Its alright if I can't… Candice offered to let me stay at her place these holidays._  
_Anyway, write back soon!_  
_Love Amanda._

I could have almost sent this off but it was covered in scribbles and crossed out words, so I out a fresh piece of parchment and rewrote the letter cleanly. It looked almost immaculate. I rolled it up and placed it gingerly on top of the contents of my bag and gave it a queer look before zipping the bag closed.

I walked up to my dorm and entered; the soft snores of the girls fluttered through the room, giving the area a sensation of calm and sleepiness. I shut the door as quietly as possible and crept towards my bed. Most of the girls had their bed's curtains drawn, expect for Candice. She slept face down, hugging her pillow, and had a huge sleepy smile on her face. A soft grin formed on my face in reaction to her own.

Slowly, I climbed into bed, not bothering to change clothes.

I thought of my letter and went through it again in my mind. I felt almost proud of it, asking for so much details while discerning none of my own. It was almost masterly vague.

I had mentioned nothing that had happened in the school and I hoped, deeply hoped that they would not hear any of it. I rolled over to face Candice, whose sleepy smile still lingered. Her face lit by moonlight and I realised somewhere inside myself that I was so grateful that she was my friend. The feeling struck slow but heavily, and tears wet my cheeks silently. I closed my eyes as I reflected on our friendship, past and present, to the chorus of drowsy sounds in the dorm room.


End file.
